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MODERN  IRISH  TRADE 
AND  INDUSTRY 


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fi      -jii*  r^T  ^ome  to  their 

it'i  --^.ciouib  or  bureaus,  or  even 

e  in  some  city  like  New  York  for  a 
wrs  until  the  work  of  Irish  craftsmen 
great  stores  in  New  York,  Chicago, 
owns  sought  it  out  and  gave  orders 
.  We  have  art  schools  and  techni- 
^ive  instructions  to  students,  but 
with  their  acquired   skill,   and 
•g  these  craftsmen  into  relation 
-  i'or  their  work. 

the  Royal  Dublin  Society,  at 
*•.  very  well  give  the  whole  of 
9  and  crafts.     It  is  a  Show 
thousands  from  abroad,  and 


JULY  6,  1929.  .    S 

<*& 

we  think  there  is  much  to  be  sa  ^     V>^      A 

room  for  this  purpose  and  not      ^^S^x^cT  arts  and 

crafts  with  boot  polishes  and  exh.  ,^s  of  all  kinds  of 
commodities  from  industrialists  here  or  in  Great 
Britain,  which  should  be  in  the  big  hall  by  them- 
selves. If  the  Eoyal  Dublin  Society  decided  on 
such  a  display  it  should  let  the  workers  know  a  year 
before  that  they  may  be  prepared  to  exhibit  their  besfc 
work.  There  are  these  three  directions  in  which  a  way 
might  be  found  to  make  the  fine  work  done  by  Irish 
craftsmen  known  as  it  should  be.  First,  there  is  the 
linking  up  of  the  Churches  with  those  who  devote 
themselves  to  ecclesiastical  art,  and  for  this  we  think 
there  should  be  a  special  organisation.  Then  we  think 
the  Minister  for  Industry  and  Commerce  might  do 
something  in  the  United  States,  which  is  the  richest 
market  to  be  explored,  either  to  arrange  exhibitions 
or  even  to  finance  a  shop  for  the  sale  of  such  work  in 
New  York;  and,  lastly,  we  think  the  Eoyal  Dublin 
Society  should  revive  those  exhibitions  of  Irish  arts 
and  crafts  which  were  so  attractive  years  ago.  We 
really  have  some  first-class  workers  in  the  arts  and 
crafts,  who  do  work  which  would  attract  attention  any- 
where if  it  was  properly  displayed,  and  the  Minister 
might  very  well  ask  some  person  familiar  with  what 
is  done,  a  man  of  energy  and  business  ability,  to  ex- 
plore the  possibilities  of  exhibition  or  sale  in  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain.  We  are  certain 
there  are  many  wealthy  and  cultivated  Irish-Ameri- 
cans who  would  be  delighted  if  Ireland  could  be 
known  for  other  things  than  its  politics.  Irish  writers 
and  dramatists  are  known  over  Europe  and  America, 
but  little  is  known  of  Irish  artists,  of  the  workers  in 
the  arts  and  crafts.  We  cannot  hope  to  compete  with 
the  rest  of  the  world  in  mass  production,  but  there  is 
always  a  market  for  wrork  of  fine  quality.  There 
must  be  organisation  to  bring  Irish  work  to  those  rich 
markets,  and  this  is  something  the  Department  might 
very  properly  undertake. 


MODERN   IRISH    TRADE 
AND   INDUSTRY 


MODERN    IRISH    TRADE 
AND    INDUSTRY 

BY 

E.   J.   RIORDAN 

SECRETARY  THE  IRISH  INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT  ASSOCIATION 


WITH  AN  HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION 

BY 
GEORGE  O'BRIEN,   LITT.D.,  M.R.I.A. 


NEW    YORK 
E.  P.  DUTTON  AND   COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


First  Published  in  1920 


DEDICATION 

TO 
JOSEPHINE  RIORDAN 


CHOKING  TARES  WITH  THE  WHEAT  ARE  SOWN  : 

NOT  WITH  A  PAGE  AM  I  WELL  CONTENT. 
YET,  FOR  THE  SAKE  OF  THE  HAND  THAT  WRIT 
AND  THE  FLUSH'D  BEYOND  THAT  ELUDED  IT, 
TAKE — FOR  I  GREATLY  MEANT. 


SO — FOR   THE   YEARS    THAT  HAVE   KNIT   US    TWAIN, 

YEARS    WHERETHROUGH   I   HAVE   FAILED   TO    LEARN 
THAT   NEED   OF   MINE   CAN   E'ER   DRAIN   YOU    DRY 
OF   COUNSEL,    COMFORT,    AND   SYMPATHY — 
TAKE — AS   A    POOR   RETURN." 

W.   E.    B.    HENDERSON 


2O66259 


PREFACE 

IT  is  a  rare  experience  to  find  any  person,  even  an  Irish 
business  man,  who  possesses  what  approximates  to 
exact  knowledge  of  the  modern  history  of  Irish  trade 
and  industry.  This  lack  of  knowledge  is  to  a  large  extent 
ascribable  to  the  fact  that  no  systematic  records  of  Irish  trade 
or  industry  were  kept  during  the  greater  part  of  the  past 
century.  Consequently,  unless  one  were  able  to  devote  a 
considerable  amount  of  time  and  labour  in  searching  for  and 
studying  such  scattered  data  as  are  available,  a  wide  know- 
ledge of  the  subject  was  unattainable. 

The  aim  of  the  present  work  is  to  supply  the  reader  with 
(as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  do  so)  a  connected  record  showing 
the  mam  factors  which  constitute  the  history  of  the  subject 
from  (about)  the  period  1850  to  our  own  day  ;  whilst  Dr. 
O'Brien's  historical  introduction  outlines  the  earlier  history 
from  the  seventeenth  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

I  am  deeply  indebted  to  Mr.  John  Hooper,  Superintendent, 
Statistics  and  Intelligence  Branch,  Department  of  Agriculture 
and  Technical  Instruction  for  Ireland,  for  the  valuable 
assistance  he  gave  me  in  the  compilation  of  Part  I  of  Chapter  I 
of  this  book,  as  well  as  for  having  placed  at  my  disposal  works 
of  reference  from  which  I  obtained  certain  statistics  embodied 

herein. 

E.  J.  RIORDAN 
MERRION  HOUSE, 
BLACKROCK, 

Co.  DUBLIN. 
April,  1920. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

AN   HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  :    I6OO   TO   1850   -  I 

I.      AGRICULTURE,   FISHERIES,   AND  FOOD   PRODUCTS          57 

(i)  Crops  and  Live  Stocks;  (2)  Fisheries; 
(3)  Bacon  Curing  ;  (4)  Preserved  Meats  ; 
(5)  Butter  ;  (6)  Cheese  ;  (7)  Margarine  ; 

(8)  Flour      Milling ;        (9)  Bakeries      and 
Biscuit-making  ;     (10)  Oatmeal  Milling. 

II.      SHIPBUILDING  AND  ENGINEERING  -       £?- 

III.  TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES          -  -      IO6 

(i)  Linen  and  Cotton;  (2)  Shirts  and 
Collars  ;  (3)  Woollens  ;  (4)  Rope  and 
Twine  ;  (5)  Hosiery  ;  (6)  Poplin  ; 
(7)  Carpets ;  (8)  Bags  and  Sacks ; 

(9)  Other  Textile  Industries. 

IV.  MINERALS,   RAW  MATERIALS,   ETC.  -  -      142 

(i)  Minerals  ;  (2)  Bricks  ;  (3)  Building 
Trade  ;  (4)  Timber  Products. 

V.      BREWING,   DISTILLING,   ETC.,   INDUSTRIES  -      156 

(i)  Brewing  and  Malting  ;  (2)  Distilling  ; 
(3)  Aerated  Waters,  etc.  ;  (4)  Cider ; 
(5)  Bottling  ;  (6)  Glass  Bottle  Making. 

VI.      PAPER-MAKING,    PRINTING,   ETC.,   INDUSTRIES       -      l68 
(i)    Paper-making ;  (2)    Printing   and 

Allied  Industries. 

VII.      THE  LEATHER  GROUP  OF  INDUSTRIES       -  -      176 

(i)  Tanning ;  (2)  Saddlery,  Harness,  and 
Cart-Gear  ;  (3)  Boots  and  Shoes. 

VIII.      TOBACCO  INDUSTRIES         -  -      l8l 

(i)  Tobacco  Manufactures ;  (2)  Irish- 
grown  Tobacco ;  (3)  Tobacco-pipe  Making.  ' 

IX.      SOAP,    CANDLE,    AND   FERTILIZER  INDUSTRIES        -      187 

vii 


viii  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

X.      MISCELLANEOUS  INDUSTRIES  -      IQI 

(i)    Food   Group  ;         (2)    Art   Industries  ; 

(3)  Household  Requisites ;      (4)   Chemical 
Group ;     (5)  Miscellaneous. 

XI.   GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS  -      -   196 

(i)  Admiralty  ;  (2)  Post  Office  ;  (3)  H.M. 
Stationery  Office;  (4)  War  Office; 

(5)  Ministry  of  Munitions. 

XII.      TRANSIT  -  -      215 

(i)  Railways  ;  (2)  Canals  ;  (3)  Shipping 
(including  statistics  of  Irish  Trade)  ; 

(4)  Ministry  of  Transport. 

XIII.      BANKING  -      243 

(i)  Joint  Stock  Banks;  (2)  Post  Office 
Savings  Banks  ;  (3)  Trustee  Savings  Banks ; 
(4)  Loan  Fund  Board  ;  (5)  Co-operative 
Credit  Societies  ;  (6)  National  Land  Bank. 

XIV.      CENSUS   OF  IRELAND  -  -      26l 

XV.      THE  IRISH  INDUSTRIAL  MOVEMENT  AND  THE  IRISH 

NATIONAL  TRADE  MARK  -      265 

XVI.      CONCLUSION  -----      280 


APPENDICES 

APPENDIX  PAG* 

I.      TABLE  OF  IMPORTS  AND  EXPORTS  OF  FISH,  1904-18      2Q2 

II.      LIST  OF  IRISH  LINEN  TRADE  ORGANIZATIONS  -     296 

III.  TABLE  SHOWING  OUTPUT  OF  MINERALS  AND  NUMBER 

OF    PERSONS    EMPLOYED    AT    IRISH    MINES    AND 
QUARRIES,    1909-18  -      298 

IV.  TABLES  SHOWING  RESULTS  OF  COMMERCIAL  EXPERI- 

MENTS     IN      TOBACCO-GROWING     IN      IRELAND, 
1904-18  -  -  300 

V.  TABLE  SHOWING  THE  VALUE  OF  ORDERS  PLACED 
WITH  IRISH  FIRMS  BY  THE  WAR  OFFICE  CONTRACTS 
DEPARTMENT,  AUGUST  4,  1914  MARCH  31,  1919  303 

VI.  PARTICULARS  OF  LEGAL  AND  OTHER  ACTIONS  TAKEN, 
UP  TO  THE  END  OF  THE  YEAR  1919,  BY  THE  IRISH 
INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT  ASSOCIATION  (IN- 
CORPORATED), AGAINST  PERSONS  DETECTED  IN 
APPLYING,  AND  ATTEMPTING  TO  APPLY,  IRISH 
ORIGIN  TO  NON-IRISH  GOODS  -  -  -  30  8 


INDEX  ......      317 


/ 


INTRODUCTION 

NOTE 

THIS  short  historical  introduction  is  confined  to  an 
account  of  industries  other  than  agriculture.  The 
reason  for  the  omission  of  this,  the  most  important 
of  the  industries  of  Ireland  and  the  largest  factor  in  her  trade, 
is  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  any  satisfactory  account 
of  the  history  of  Irish  agriculture  in  the  space  at  my  dis- 
posal without  compressing  the  account  of  non-agricultural 
industries  into  a  form  which  would  render  it  even  more  in- 
adequate than  it  is  at  present.  The  land  and  its  industries 
have  always  occupied  such  a  prominent  place  in  Irish  life 
that  a  history  of  Irish  agriculture  would  be  of  necessity 
something  not  very  far  removed  from  an  economic — and, 
indeed,  a  political — history  of  Ireland.  If  any  apology  be 
needed  for  the  course  I  have  adopted,  the  reader  may  be 
reminded  that  there  are  available  several  books  which  treat 
of  the  Irish  land  problem,  both  before  the  Union  and  in  the 
period  1800-50  ;  whereas  the  non-agricultural  industries  of 
the  country  have  not  received  the  same  attention  from 
historians.  I  have  therefore  thought  it  well  to  confine  this 
introduction  to  the  subject  upon  which  information  is  less 
readily  accessible ;  and,  in  further  pursuance  of  the  same 
design,  have  passed  very  rapidly  over  the  account  of  the 
period  before  the  Union,  further  details  of  which  can  be 
learnt  in  other  books,  and  have  devoted  the  greater  portion 
of  the  introduction  to  the  fifty  years  after  the  Union,  the 
industrial  history  of  which  had  been  hitherto  somewhat 
neglected.  Narrowness  of  space,  however,  condemns  the 
treatment  even  of  the  latter  period  to  be  unsatisfactory  and 


xii    MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

inadequate.  I  have  consequently  contented  myself  with 
giving  a  very  brief  summary  of  the  progress  of  each  of  the 
principal  industries  after  the  Union,  and  a  still  briefer — and, 
I  fear,  still  more  inadequate — account  of  the  main  factors 
which  tended  to  retard  that  progress.  I  hope  to  deal  with 
this  matter  at  greater  length,  and  in  a  more  satisfactory 
manner,  on  another  occasion. 

G.  O'B. 


MODERN    IRISH 
TRADE    AND    INDUSTRY 

HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION 
BY  GEORGE  O'BRIEN 


THE  beginnings  of  modern  Ireland,  so  far  as  trade  and 
industry  are  concerned,  may  be  said  to  date  from 
the  opening  years  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It 
is  quite  unnecessary  to  consider  the  condition  of  Irish  trade 
and  industry  before  that  date,  even  if  it  were  possible  to  reach 
any  conclusion  on  a  subject  upon  which  many  eminent 
historians  have  differed.  All  that  need  be  said  is  that, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  economic  condition  of  Ireland 
in  the  sixteenth  century — whether  on  the  one  hand  it  was 
poor  and  undeveloped,  or  on  the  other  hand  was  rich  and 
flourishing — the  whole  economic  structure  of  society  was 
broken  down  by  the  disastrous  Elizabethan  wars.  During 
the  last  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  country  was 
deliberately  and  systematically  devastated ;  farms  were 
wasted,  and  farmhouses  razed  to  the  ground  ;  and  trade  was 
completely  paralysed.  When  peace  was  at  last  declared  on 
the  accession  of  James  I,  a  fresh  start  had  to  be  made  in 
Ireland. 

The  seventeenth  century  in  Ireland  may  be  described  as  a 
time  of  orderly  and  rapid  economic  progress,  interrupted  at 
intervals  by  political  cataclysms.  The  first  two  Stuarts 
and  their  Irish  representatives  strenuously  laboured  to 
increase  the  wealth  of  Ireland,  with  a  view  to  augmenting  the 
royal  revenue.  It  is  not  pretended  that  any  gratitude  or 
credit  is  due  to  the  Stuarts  for  their  efforts  to  develop  Irish 
resources;  on  the  contrary  it  is  obvious  that  their  efforts 
were  dictated  by  purely  selfish  motives,  and  that  their 


4     MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

in  sympathy,  one  cannot  help  regretting  that  the  economic 
policy  of  the  Patriot  Parliament  was  not  carried  into 
effect. 

The  year  1689  witnessed  a  repetition  on  a  smaller  scale  of 
what  had  happened  in  1641.  The  rebuilding  of  the  economic 
life  of  Ireland  was  once  more  interrupted  by  an  internecine 
war.  The  material  damage  caused  by  the  Revolutionary 
War  was  very  extensive;  but  at  the  same  time  it  was 
not  at  all  to  be  compared  with  the  devastation  of  the 
Rebellion.  Probably  the  country  would  have  recuperated 
very  rapidly  from  the  effects  of  the  Williamite  campaign 
had  the  peace  which  followed  been  a  real  peace  and  not, 
what  it  was  in  fact,  a  "  war  after  war."  Nothing  is  more 
striking  in  a  survey  of  the  progress  of  events  in  Ireland 
during  the  seventeenth  century  than  the  contrast  between 
the  rapid  recovery  which  the  country  made  after  the  first  two 
cataclysms  of  the  century,  and  the  apparent  lifelessness 
which  it  displayed  after  the  third.  As  it  cannot  be  suggested 
that  the  character  of  the  people  had  deteriorated  in  the 
interval,  or  that  the  natural  resources  of  the  country  had 
diminished,  we  are  driven  to  the  conclusion  that  the  change 
must  have  been  the  result  of  some  external  cause. 

The  fact  is  that  there  was  a  fundamental  change  in  the 
political  balance  of  power  in  England  at  the  Revolution. 
The  English  Parliament  had  forcibly  succeeded  in  obtaining 
the  determining  voice  in  the  formation  of  policy,  and  the 
power  of  the  King  in  this  respect  was  definitely  limited.  We 
have  seen  that  the  policy  of  the  English  Parliament  since  the 
Restoration  had  been  unmistakably  hostile  to  the  develop- 
ment of  Irish  trade,  and  that  body  was  now  in  a  position  to 
carry  its  policy  into  action.  Indeed,  the  reasons  for  this 
policy  had  been  considerably  strengthened  by  the  events 
which  had  occurred  at  the  Revolution ;  James  II  had  called 
in  the  aid  of  Irish  troops  to  aid  him  in  his  struggle  against 
his  English  subjects  ;  and  the  Parliamentary  victory  had 
been  delayed  and  rendered  more  expensive  by  the  stand  which 
the  King  made  in  Ireland. 

The  importance  of  this  aspect  of  the  Parliamentary 
policy  after  the  Revolution  is  strongly  emphasized  by  Dr. 
Cunningham  in  his  "  Growth  of  English  Industry  and 
Commerce": — "Fortunately  the  economic  jealousy  with 
which  Englishmen  regarded  Irish  progress  was  immensely 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  5 

stimulated  by  considerations  of  a  constitutional  character. 
The  English  Parliament  were  keenly  suspicious  of  anything 
that  might  tend  to  increase  the  royal  powers.  Charles  I, 
Charles  II,  and  James  II  had  all  suffered  from  the  distrust 
of  their  subjects  ;  and  William  III,  even  though  he  had  been 
invited  to  come  over,  did  not  succeed  in  inspiring  confidence. 
As  is  well  known,  he  bitterly  resented  the  treatment  he  received. 
Since  Ireland  was  an  independent  kingdom  the  English  House 
of  Commons  had  no  direct  control  over  its  affairs  ;  and  there 
was  constant  uneasiness  lest  any  power  which  the  King 
acquired  in  Ireland  should  be  used  without  the  concurrence 
of  the  English  Parliament,  or  even  against  English  liberties. 
Twice  within  the  seventeenth  century  serious  attempts  had 
been  made  to  develop  the  resources  of  Ireland — by  Strafford, 
and  under  Charles  II  and  James  II  ;  in  both  cases  the  result 
had  been  that  the  King  had  found  himself  in  possession  of 
power  that  seemed  to  menace  his  English  subjects.  Under 
these  circumstances  there  was  the  strongest  political  reason 
for  dreading  any  development  of  the  wealth  of  Ireland  that 
took  place  at  the  expense  of  England,  since  this  really  implied 
an  increase  of  the  influence  of  the  Crown  at  the  expense  of 
that  of  Parliament." 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  this  jealousy  of  the  royal 
power  was  the  only  motive  which  operated  to  make  the 
English  Parliament  hostile  to  Irish  trade.  In  addition  there 
were  the  dominant  mercantilist  ideas  that  one  country's 
riches  meant  its  neighbour's  poverty,  and  that  the  great 
aim  of  statesmanship  should  be  the  development  of  an 
export  trade  in  manufactured  commodities.  Additional 
weight  was  given  to  these  considerations  by  the  fear  of  a 
war  between  England  and  France,  in  the  event  pf  which 
the  latter  might  find  a  most  valuable  ally  in  a  rich  and 
prosperous  Ireland. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  English  Parliament  under  the  Stuarts 
had  been  unable  fully  to  carry  its  Irish  policy  into  effect  by 
reason  of  its  impotence  to  interfere  with  the  foreign  trade  of 
Ireland.  It  was  therefore  necessary  that  an  attempt  should 
be  made  to  assert  the  right  of  the  English  Parliament  to 
legislate  for  Ireland,  and  we  accordingly  find  that  in  the  years 
immediately  following  the  Revolution  such  an  attempt  was 
made,  and  the  principle  contended  for  was  successfully, 
though  unconstitutionally,  established.  Here,  as  elsewhere, 


6    MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

we  are  forcibly  struck  by  the  close  connexion  between 
Ireland's  economic  progress  and  her  political  status. 

Having  thus  asserted  its  power  to  legislate  for  Ireland, 
and  consequently  to  regulate  Irish  foreign  trade,  the  English 
Parliament  promptly  proceeded  to  strike  a  deadly  blow  at 
Irish  industrial  development.  In  the  latter  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century  the  most  important  Irish  industry  was 
undoubtedly  the  woollen  manufacture.  Encouraged  by 
Ormond,  it  had  grown  rapidly  during  the  reign  of  Charles  II, 
and  after  the  Revolution  it  showed  signs  of  attaining  still 
more  considerable  proportions.  At  the  same  time  it  had  not 
developed  to  anything  like  a  point  when  it  could  injure  the 
long-established  English  woollen  manufacture  in  foreign 
markets,  and  therefore  in  so  far  as  its  suppression  was  due  to 
the  jealousy  of  the  English  woollen  manufacturers,  that 
jealousy  was  prompted  rather  by  the  fear  of  future  than  by 
the  experience  of  past  competition. 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  state  that  the  exportation  of 
woollen  goods  from  Ireland  to  any  part  of  the  world  except 
England  (from  which  they  were  virtually  excluded  by  pro- 
hibitive duties)  was  forbidden  in  1698.  Much  weight  has 
been  sometimes  laid  on  the  fact  that  the  suppression 
of  the  woollen  industry  was  compensated  for  by  the 
promised  encouragement  of  the  linen  industry  in  its  place. 
The  answer  to  this  suggestion  is  obvious.  There  may  be  some 
doubt  as  to  the  precise  degree  of  development  the  linen 
industry  had  attained  in  Ireland  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  It  had  certainly  been  securely  established  for  many 
years ;  and  it  is  probable  that  its  importance  was  greater 
than  is  generally  supposed.  But,  whatever  its  stage  of 
development  may  have  been,  the  promise  that  it  would  be 
encouraged  in  the  future  was  no  consideration  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  another  industry,  the  success  of  which  was  in  no  way 
irreconcilable  with  the  progress  of  the  linen  industry  at  the 
same  time.  If  the  latter  industry  was  undeveloped  and 
practically  non-existent  in  1698,  then  the  transaction  was  the 
compulsory  relinquishment  of  a  certainty  in  exchange  for  an 
experiment.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  linen  industry  was 
already  well  established,  then  the  pretended  consideration 
for  the  suppression  of  the  woollen  industry  was  no  considera- 
tion at  all. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  suppression  of  the  woollen 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  7 

industry  was  a  blow  aimed  at  the  interests  of  the  Irish  Pro- 
testants who  were  in  possession  of  a  practical  monopoly  of 
the  manufacture.  The  degradation  of  the  Catholics  was 
entrusted  to  the  Irish  Parliament,  which  had  been  thoroughly 
Protestantized  after  the  Revolution  ;  but  the  English  Parlia- 
ment itself  undertook  the  degradation  of  the  Protestant 
population  of  Ireland. 

The  suppression  of  the  woollen  manufacture  was  the  most 
important  landmark  in  the  whole  economic  history  of  Ireland ; 
it  did  more  to  shape  the  course  of  Irish  economic  life 
in  succeeding  years  th^n  any  other  single  event,  and  was  the 
most  fruitful  source  of  the  dreadful  distress  that  characterized 
the  eighteenth  century. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  a  terrible  crop  was  sown,  of 
which  the  harvest  was  reaped  in  the  eighteenth.  The  first 
eighty  years  of  the  latter  century  was  a  time  of  uninterrupted 
industrial  depression.  In  the  ordinary  course  the  woollen 
industry  would  have  been  the  staple  manufacture  of  Ireland, 
but  the  development  of  this  industry  was  prevented  by  the 
prohibition  of  the  export  of  Irish  woollens.  Great  numbers 
of  Irish  woollen  weavers  emigrated  to  the  Continent  of  Europe 
and  to  America,  and  those  who  remained  in  Ireland  were 
plunged  in  the  deepest  misery  and  want  owing  to  the  paralysis 
of  the  manufactures  on  which  they  were  employed. 

Although  the  restrictive  legislation  of  the  English  Parlia- 
ment succeeded  in  inflicting  an  incalculable  injury  on  Ireland, 
it  did  not  benefit  England.  On  the  contrary,  the  English 
woollen  industry  suffered  severely  as  a  result  of  the  Act  of 
1698.  The  Irish  weavers  who  emigrated  contributed  their 
skill  to  England's  continental  rivals ;  and  a  great  quantity 
of  Irish  wool,  for  which  there  was  no  demand  in  Ireland,  was 
smuggled  abroad  to  France  and  Holland,  where  it  helped 
materially  to  develop  the  woollen  manufacture.  An  English 
pamphleteer,  writing  in  1735,  said  that  the  destruction  of  the 
Irish  woollen  industry  had  had  the  following  five  conse- 
quences :  (i)  the  emigration  of  twenty  thousand  manufacturers 
at  once  from  Ireland  ;  (2)  their  retreat  into  foreign  countries  ; 
(3)  the  establishment  thereupon  of  the  woollen  manufacture 
in  almost  all  parts  of  Europe  ;  (4)  the  exportation  of  Irish 
and  English  wool ;  and  (5)  the  gradual  and  notorious  decay 
of  the  English  woollen  trade  from  that  hour.  "  The  single 
competitor  was  ousted  from  the  field,"  says  Dr.  Cunningham 


8     MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

in  the  work  from  which  we  have  already  quoted,  "  but  it  was 
a  barren  triumph,  since  our  statesmen  unwittingly  called 
into  being  new  rivals  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  best 
markets." 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  woollen  manufacture  was 
the  only  Irish  industry  attacked  during  the  eighteenth  century. 
On  the  contrary,  industry  after  industry  was  suppressed  as 
soon  as  it  showed  any  signs  of  vitality.  The  export  of  Irish 
glass  was  prohibited  in  1746  ;  and  the  promising  Irish  brewing 
industry  was  paralysed  by  the  British  Parliament's  legislation 
with  regard  to  hops. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  the  encouragement  of  the  Irish 
linen  industry  was  stated  to  be  the  consideration  for  the  sup- 
pression of  the  woollen,  and  it  has  sometimes  been  concluded 
from  the  fact  that  the  linen  industry  made  considerable 
progress  during  the  eighteenth  century  that  this  promise  of 
encouragement  was  carried  into  effect.  A  further  study  of 
the  subject,  however,  establishes  conclusively  that  this  promise 
was  dishonoured  ;  and  that  the  progress  of  the  Irish  linen 
industry  took  place,  not  in  any  way  because  of,  but  rather  in 
spite  of  the  action  of  the  British  Parliament.  At  the  end  of 
the  seventeenth  century  the  linen  industry  of  Great  Britain 
had  shown  no  sign  of  developing,  and  it  was  therefore  thought 
that,  if  the  Irish  linen  industry  were  to  be  encouraged,  no 
injurious  competition  would  be  experienced  by  any  British 
industry.  Shortly  afterwards,  however,  when  the  Scotch 
linen  manufacture  showed  signs  of  developing,  the  whole 
policy  of  the  British  Parliament  towards  the  Irish  linen 
industry  was  modified,  and  many  vexatious  restraints  were 
imposed  on  the  manufacture  which  had  been  promised 
encouragement.  The  discouragement  which  the  industry 
received  from  the  British  was  more  than  counterbalanced 
by  the  encouragement  which  it  received  from  the  Irish 
legislature,  and  it  consequently  prospered,  and  succeeded  in 
providing  employment  for  great  numbers  who  would  other- 
wise have  been  completely  destitute. 

The  only  industry  other  than  the  linen  that  flourished 
during  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  the 
provision  trade,  which  attained  considerable  proportions. 
This  industry,  though  productive  of  much  benefit  to  those 
immediately  concerned  in  it,  was  rather  a  burden  than  a 
benefit  to  the  country  as  a  whole,  as  it  increased  the  temptation 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  9 

to  convert  tillage  land  into  pasturage,,  and  consequently 
to  decrease  the  amount  of  employment  available  for  the 
rural  population. 

Ireland,  it  may  be  said,  therefore,  depended  for  its  livelihood 
on  two  industries.  This  was  a  state  of  affairs  which  might 
have  continued  indefinitely  had  those  two  staple  industries 
remained  in  a  flourishing  condition.  If,  however,  any  occasion 
arose  in  which  one  of  these  industries  received  a  severe  set 
back,  one  half  of  the  industrial  population  would  experience 
extreme  want ;  if  both  encountered  a  period  of  depression 
simultaneously,  the  whole  country  would  be  plunged  into 
acute  distress. 

This  coincidence  actually  occurred  in  the  decade  1770-80. 
The  linen  industry,  which  had  been  so  prosperous,  experienced 
a  period  of  acute  depression,  caused  by  the  political  unrest 
in  the  American  colonies  and  banking  failures.  At  the  same 
time  the  provision  industry,  upon  which  a  large  part  of  the 
population  of  the  south  and  west  depended  for  a  livelihood, 
was  temporarily  paralysed  by  a  series  of  embargoes  on  the 
exportation  of  Irish  provisions  imposed  by  the  English  Privy 
Council. 

This  double  misfortune,  though  productive  of  much 
immediate  suffering  and  distress,  ultimately  proved  of  the 
utmost  benefit  to  Irish  commerce,  as  it  focused  public 
opinion  upon  the  injustice  of  the  existing  situation  so  strongly 
that  a  repeal  of  the  restrictive  laws  became  the  subject  of 
immediate  demand.  The  details  of  the  agitation  in  favour 
of  a  "  free  trade  "  need  not  here  be  recalled  ;  suffice  it  to  say 
that  in  1780,  after  the  English  Parliament  had  unsuccessfully 
endeavoured  to  meet  the  Irish  demand  by  partial  concessions, 
the  restrictions  on  Irish  commerce  with  the  British  colonies 
were  wholly  repealed,  and  the  right  of  Ireland  freely  to  trade 
with  foreign  countries  was  completely  admitted. 

The  intimate  connexion  between  political  freedom  and 
economic  progress  in  Ireland  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  the 
events  which  took  place  in  the  years  immediately  following 
the  relaxation  of  the  commercial  restraints.  No  sooner  had 
Ireland  obtained  a  free  trade  than  it  was  realized  by  the  Irish 
patriotic  party  that  what  Great  Britain  had  bestowed  Great 
Britain  might  take  away,  and  that  Ireland  could  not  securely 
enjoy  her  new  advantages  so  long  as  the  overruling  power  of 
the  British  Parliament  to  legislate  for  Ireland  was  acknow- 


10  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

ledged.  The  commercial  victory  of  1780  was  consequently 
the  immediate  occasion  of  the  renewed  agitation  which 
resulted  in  the  constitutional  victory  of  1782.  The  part 
played  by  commercial  considerations  in  the  constitutional 
struggle  of  these  fateful  years  cannot  be  too  strongly 
emphasized. 

The  eighteen  years  of  Grattan's  Parliament  constituted  a 
period  of  great  industrial  and  commercial  progress  in  Ireland. 
In  1790  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  said  that  it  was  his 
pride  and  happiness  to  declare  that  he  did  not  think  it  possible 
for  any  nation  to  have  improved  more  in  her  circumstances 
than  Ireland  had  done  since  1784 ;  and  in  1795  the  Address 
to  the  Throne  referred  to  "  the  unexampled  prosperity  and 
growing  resources  of  the  nation."  "  What  is  the  state  of 
Ireland  at  this  moment  ?  "  exclaimed  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Commons  in  the  latter  year.  "A  state  of  unexampled 
prosperity;  .  .  .  the  manufacturer  finds  employment  and 
payment  to  his  satisfaction."  A  remarkable  account  of 
the  development  of  Ireland  under  Grattan's  Parliament  is 
to  be  found  in  Foster's  speech  against  the  Act  of  Union  : 
"  The  general  export  (from  Ireland)  rose  in  seventy-eight 
years  to  1782,  from  one  to  five,  and  in  fourteen  years,  after 
1782,  from  five  to  ten.  The  linen  export  in  the  seventy-eight 
years  rose  from  one  to  thirty-two,  and  in  the  last  fourteen, 
from  thirty-two  to  eighty-eight ;  so  that  the  general  export 
rose  as  much  in  the  first  fourteen  years  as  it  had  done  during 
the  preceding  seventy-eight,  and  linen  exports  trebled  in 
that  time."  A  large  and  representative  meeting  of  the 
gentlemen,  clergy,  and  freeholders  of  Dublin,  held  in  1799, 
unanimously  adopted  a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  "  The 
Legislative  Independence  of  Ireland  has  been  the  means  of 
improvement  and  prosperity  to  this  country  rapid  beyond 
example,"  and  even  Castlereagh  admitted  that  "  no  power 
in  Europe  had  made  more  rapid  strides  in  wealth  and  general 
happiness  in  the  last  fifteen  years  than  Ireland."  Newenham 
was  of  opinion  that  "  The  progress  of  Ireland  towards 
national  opulence  subsequently  to  the  independence  of  her 
trade,  especially  of  her  legislative  independence,  was  extremely 
rapid." 

The  export  of  raw  wool  totally  ceased,  and  the  woollen 
manufacture  showed  some  signs  of  reattaining  its  former 
prosperity  ;  the  cotton  manufacture  grew  at  a  very  rapid 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  11 

pace,  and  in  a  few  years  reached  considerable  dimensions  ; 
the  progress  of  the  linen  manufacture  was  uninterrupted  ; 
the  brewing  industry  was  re-established  in  Ireland,  without 
however  in  any  way  injuring  its  flourishing  rivals,  the 
distillers  ; .  the  glass  manufacture  became  a  serious  rival 
to  that  of  England  ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  greatly  increased 
export  of  corn,  the  provision  trade  did  not  suffer,  but  on 
the  contrary  continued  to  expand.  Several  small  industries 
also  made  successful  progress,  and  Ireland  gave  promise 
of  being  soon  able  to  supply  herself  with  many  com- 
modities which  she  had  previously  imported.  "  Attempts 
were  made  to  develop  the  industries  of  the  country,"  writes 
Dr.  Cunningham ;  "  Irish  trade  increased  enormously  for  a 
time." 

The  fact  that  Grattan's  Parliament  achieved  so  much  is 
remarkable  ;  but  the  fact  that  it  did  not  achieve  more  has 
been  sometimes  used  as  an  argument  to  excuse  its  abolition. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  it  was  impossible  to  do  more 
than  a  certain  amount  in  twenty  years,  and  that  Ireland  was, 
owing  to  the  low  condition  to  which  it  had  sunk,  and  the  evil 
land  system,  an  exceptionally  difficult  country  to  regenerate 
economically.  When  the  commercial  restraints  were  relaxed 
Arthur  Young  foretold  that  it  would  be  half  a  century  before 
Ireland  would  feel  the  full  benefit  of  her  liberation  ;  and 
Adam  Smith  made  a  similar  forecast.  "  I  cannot  believe," 
the  latter  wrote  to  Dundas,  "  that  the  manufacturers  of  Great 
Britain  can  for  a  century  to  come  suffer  much  from  the  rival- 
ship  of  those  of  Ireland,  even  though  the  Irish  should  be 
indulged  in  a  free  trade.  Ireland  has  neither  the  skill  nor  the 
stock  which  would  enable  her  to  rival  England,  and,  though 
both  may  be  acquired  in  time,  to  acquire  them  completely 
will  require  the  operation  of  little  less  than  a  century." 
Surely  the  fact  that  the  Irish  Parliament  failed  to  achieve 
in  twenty  years  progress  which  such  great  economists 
prophesied  could  only  be  achieved  in  fifty  should  not  be 
used  as  a  reproach. 

The  theory  has  been  advanced  in  recent  years  that  the 
undoubted  industrial  development  that  took  place  under 
Grattan's  Parliament  was  due,  not  to  any  action  on  the 
part  of  Parliament,  but  to  the  operation  of  the  Industrial 
Revolution.  In  answer  to  this  suggestion  it  may  be  stated 
that  no  revolution  took  place  in  the  methods  of  conducting 


12  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

industry  in  Ireland,  with  the  one  exception  of  the  cotton 
industry,  until  the  nineteenth  century  ;  and  that  not  one  of 
the  features  which  went  to  make  up  that  great  change  in  the 
manufacturing  life  of  Great  Britain,  which  is  known  as  the 
Industrial  Revolution,  had  any  counterpart  in  Ireland  during 
the  period  of  Grattan's  Parliament.  The  complaint  that 
Grattan's  Parliament  did  not  devote  sufficient  attention  to 
the  condition  of  the  workers,  and  that  the  latter  derived 
little  or  no  benefit  from  the  industrial  progress,  is  simply  a 
repetition  of  the  universally  admitted  fact  that  more  regard 
was  paid  by  eighteenth  century  statesmen  and  economists 
to  the  volume  of  production  than  to  equitable  distribution. 

After  1780  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  stood  on  practically 
equal  terms  with  regard  to  the  prosecution  of  foreign  and 
colonial  trade,  but  the  trade  between  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland — "  the  channel  trade  "  as  it  was  called — was  still 
impeded  by  many  restraints  and  protective  duties.  The 
abolition  of  these  prohibitions  and  the  lowering  of  these 
duties  were  the  objects  aimed  at  by  Pitt's  famous  Commercial 
Propositions  of  1785.  It  is  unnecessary  to  recount  the 
history  of  the  negotiations  to  which  Pitt's  proposals  gave 
rise,  suffice  it  to  say  that  the  original  scheme,  having  been 
accepted  by  the  Irish  Parliament,  was  wrecked  by  the  fears 
and  jealousy  of  the  English  manufacturing  interests  ;  and 
that  the  amended  proposals  were  such  that  Ireland  could 
have  only  purchased  the  doubtful  commercial  benefits  they 
conferred  by  a  sacrifice  of  her  dearly-won  legislative  indepen- 
dence. It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the  principal 
argument  with  which  Pitt  urged  the  British  Parliament  to 
accept  his  original  propositions  was  that  they  could  not  be 
productive  of  any  advantage  to  Ireland.  The  possibility 
that  Irish  manufacturers  could  seriously  compete  in  the 
British  market  he  emphatically  denied,  and  the  fear  that 
British  manufacturers  would  employ  their  capital  in  Ireland 
he  brushed  aside  as  a  groundless  fiction  of  the  imagination. 

Pitt's  arguments  on  these  points  are  interesting  in  view 
of  the  terms  of  the  Act  of  Union  which  he  succeeded  in 
passing  fifteen  years  later.  The  commercial  clause  of  that 
famous  treaty  provided  that  from  and  after  the  first  of 
January,  1801,  all  prohibitions  and  bounties  on  the  growth, 
produce,  or  manufacture  of  Great  Britain  or  Ireland  to  the 
other  should  cease  ;  and  that  all  articles  produced  or  manu- 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  13 

factured  in  either  country  should  be  imported  from  each 
country  to  the  other  free  from  duty,  but  that  for  a  period 
of  twenty  years  from  the  Union  certain  enumerated  articles 
— the  principal  of  which  were  apparel,  cottons  other  than 
calicoes  and  muslins,  glass,  haberdashery,  hats,  pottery, 
saddlery,  silk  goods,  and  stockings — should  be  subject  to 
a  ten  per  cent  ad  valorem  duty  in  passing  from  one  country 
to  the  Bother  ;  the  woollen  manufacture  should  during  the 
same  period  continue  to  pay  the  existing  duties  on  their 
importation  into  Ireland  ;  that  salt  and  hops  should  pay 
on  importation  into  Ireland  from  Great  Britain  the  duties 
then  payable  on  their  importation  into  Ireland  ;  and  that 
coals  should  be  subject  to  burdens  not  exceeding  those  to 
which  they  were  then  subject,  A  special  exception  was 
made  in  favour  of  calicoes  and  muslins  by  the  provision  that 
these  goods  on  being  exported  from  one  country  to  the  other 
should  continue  to  pay  the  duties  then  payable  on  their 
importation  into  Ireland  from  Great  Britain,  and  that  these 
duties'should  be  gradually  reduced  until  they  became  extin- 
guished in  1821.  Special  provision  was  made  for  the 
imposition  of  countervailing  duties  when  the  inland  excise 
duties  payable  on  an  article  in  the  two  countries  were  different. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  changes  effected  by  the  Act  of 
Union  were  practically  identical  with  those  proposed  by  the 
Commercial  Propositions,  with  the  important  addition  that 
the  later  measure  also  deprived  the  Irish  Parliament  of  the 
power  of  altering  the  new  arrangements  if  they  were  found 
unsatisfactory  in  practice.  It  is  therefore  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  Pitt,  in  view  of  his  utterances  in  1785,  could  have 
thought  that  the  Act  of  Union  would  benefit  Ireland  com- 
mercially. The  fact  that  there  was  practically  no  opposition 
to  the  Union  from  any  manufacturing  interest  in  Great 
Britain  is  full  of  significance.  The  concessions  of  1780  and 
the  Commercial  Propositions  had  met  with  the  bitterest 
opposition  from  those  engaged  in  almost  every  industry  in 
Great  Britain,  but  the  proposals  for  the  Union  met  with  no 
such  opposition  except  from  the  woollen  manufacturers, 
whose  dislike  to  the  measure,  however,  according  to  Dr. 
Cunningham,  was  due  less  to  jealousy  of  possible  Irish 
competition  than  to  the  belief  that  English  wool,  if  freely 
admitted  to  Ireland,  would  be  clandestinely  exported  thence 
to  the  continent  and  would  assist  the  woollen  manufacturers 


14  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

in  France  and  the  Low  Countries.  This  striking  change  in 
the  attitude  of  the  British  manufacturers  is  very  significant, 
as  it  shows  that  they  did  not  fear  any  Irish  competition  in 
the  British  market,  and  that  they  may  have  hoped  to  improve 
their  Irish  trade. 

The  fact  of  course  is  that  the  Union  was  a  measure  dictated 
almost  altogether  by  political  motives,  and  it  cannot  be 
pretended  for  a  moment  that  it  was  intended  to  confer  any 
commercial  benefit  on  Ireland.  As  far  as  intercourse  with 
foreign  countries  and  the  colonies  was  concerned,  Ireland 
already  enjoyed  free  trade,  and  the  only  trade  which  was 
opened  by  the  Act  of  Union  was  the  channel  trade  between 
Ireland  and  Great  Britain.  This  was  done  by  providing 
that  the  duties  on  the  importation  of  goods  from  each  country 
to  the  other  should  be  considerably  reduced,  and  fixed  at 
the  same  rate  for  goods  travelling  in  each  direction.  The 
result  of  this  was  to  create  a  nominal  equality  where  no  real 
equality  existed.  The  manufactures  of  Ireland,  though 
progressing,  were  still  comparatively  undeveloped,  and  were 
urgently  in  need  of  artificial  encouragement  in  order  to 
enable  them  to  attain  a  condition  in  which  they  could  success- 
fully compete  on  equal  terms  with  those  of  Great  Britain. 
The  result  of  equalizing  the  duties  in  the  two  countries  was 
that,  while  the  Irish  manufacturer  was  no  more  able  than 
before  to  obtain  a  substantial  footing  in  the  British  market, 
he  was  placed  in  considerable  danger  of  losing  his  position 
in  the  Irish  market.  The  principal  articles  of  Irish  manu- 
facture, linen  and  provisions,  were  already  freely  admitted 
into  Great  Britain,  and  therefore  the  only  commodities  to 
which  an  entry  was  granted  for  the  first  time  were  articles 
which  could  not  derive  any  benefit  from  their  admission. 

It  was  suggested  by  supporters  of  the  Union  that  one 
result  of  that  measure  would  be  that  English  capitalists 
would  be  more  ready  to  invest  money  in  Ireland  owing  to 
the  greater  security  to  life  and  property  which  the  improved 
form  of  government  would  produce.  In  the  event,  no  such 
consequence  attended  the  Union.  Sir  George  Corn ew all 
Lewis,  in  his  report  on  the  state  of  the  Irish  poor  in  Great 
Britain  in  1836,  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  British 
capitalists  were  even  then  afraid  to  invest  money  in  Ireland 
owing  to  the  insecurity  of  property  in  that  country.  Either 
Pitt's  judgment  of  the  future  was  sadly  defective,  or  else  he 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  15 

did  not  himself  believe  in  the  glowing  future  which  he 
pictured. 

The  commercial  clauses  of  the  Union  are  a  good  example 
of  the  high-handed  way  in  which  Irish  interests  have  always 
been  dealt  with  by  British  statesmen.  The  policy  which 
was  found  convenient  for  Great  Britain  was  then,  as  at  all 
times  before  and  since,  imposed  on  Ireland,  in  utter  disregard 
of  the  fact  that  the  interests  of  the  two  countries  were  not 
identical.  So  long  as  a  policy  of  Parliamentary  Colbertism 
was  considered  desirable  to  place  British  industry  on  a 
substantial  and  self-reliant  footing,  such  a  policy  was  carried 
into  effect,  with  admittedly  good  results.  The  policy  of 
Colbertism  was  found  to  be  no  longer  necessary,  and  con- 
sequently was  abandoned  by  the  British  Parliament  about 
1780,  which  was  the  very  time  that  the  Irish  Parliament 
first  obtained  an  opportunity  of  pursuing  such  a  policy  with 
regard  to  the  industries  of  Ireland.  Such  a  policy  was  in 
fact  pursued,  and  with  great  success,  so  far  as  it  was  allowed 
to  proceed  ;  but  it  was  interrupted  before  it  had  had  time 
to  place  the  industries  of  the  country  in  a  position  when 
it  could  be  safely  discontinued.  Thus  the  British  Parliament 
refused  to  allow  the  Irish  Parliament  to  do  for  Ireland  what 
it  had  itself  done  so  successfully  for  Great  Britain;  and 
insisted  on  treating  Irish  manufactures  as  if  they  had  reached 
the  same  level  of  independence  as  British — a  course  full  of 
obvious  injustice  in  the  circumstances  of  the  two  countries. 

The  ten  per  cent  duties  on  the  channel  trade  were  retained 
until  1821.  Some  few  of  them  were  further  extended  till 
1825,  but  the  greater  number  of  them  were  allowed  to 
lapse  in  1821.  The  Government  proposed  to  extend  the 
duties  for  a  further  period  of  twenty  years,  with 
reductions  of  one  quarter  at  the  end  of  each  five  years, 
but  this  proposal  provoked  strong  opposition  in  the  manu- 
facturing districts  of  Great  Britain.  A  resolution  protesting 
against  it  was  passed  by  the  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
and  a  petition  against  it  presented  to  Parliament  by  the 
merchants  of  Liverpool.  In  1825,  consequently,  the  duties 
were  allowed  to  lapse,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  a  large 
body  of  Irish  manufacturers.  This  is  a  typical  instance  of 
the  way  in  which,  since  the  Union,  when  Irish  and  British 
interests  differed,  the  latter  were  consulted.  In  1823  the  im- 
port duties  on  foreign  goods  imported  into  Great  Britain  and 


16  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

Ireland  were  equalized,  and  a  few  years  later  Huskisson's 
legislation  reduced  the  import  duties  on  many  foreign  goods. 
These  changes  in  the  tariffs  on  foreign  goods  did  not,  however, 
affect  Ireland  so  materially  as  the  abolition  of  the  duties 
on  British  manufactures.  From  1825  onwards  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  were  treated  as  a  fiscal  unit  in  practically  all 
respects.  We  shall  now  give  some  account  of  the  most  impor- 
tant industries,  one  by  one,  in  the  period  following  the  Union. 

The  Irish  woollen  manufacture  did  not  quickly  recover 
from  the  effects  of  the  restrictive  legislation  to  which  it 
had  been  so  long  subjected,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  it 
advanced  but  little  during  the  period  of  Grattan's  Parliament. 
In  1810,  Wakefield  found  that  it  existed  principally  as 
a  domestic  industry,  carried  on  to  provide  for  the  immediate 
wants  of  the  peasantry,  and  that  it  did  not  exist  on  any  large 
scale.  "  All  the  wool  that  is  shorn  is  made  into  frieze  and  linsey 
by  the  proprietors  of  the  stock,  who  card,  spin,  weave,  dye, 
and  consume  it ;  and  indeed  their  own  wool  is  by  no  means 
sufficient  to  supply  their  wants.  In  the  manufacturing  of 
their  cloth  and  stuffs  these  poor  people  display  great  ingenuity  ; 
instead  of  using  oil  in  the  weaving,  they  extract  in  the  summer- 
time the  juice  of  the  fern  root,  which  they  find  to  answer  the 
purpose ;  and  for  dyeing  they  employ  the  indigenous  vege- 
table productions  of  the  country,  such  as  twigs  of  the  alder, 
walnut,  and  oak  trees,  elderberries,  and  so  on." 

The  demands  of  the  Irish  woollen  manufacturers  not  being 
sufficient  to  use  up  all  the  wool  produced  in  the  country, 
large  quantities  were  exported  to  Norwich.  Some  broad- 
cloth was  manufactured  at  Carrick-on-Suir,  but  Wakefield 
was  of  opinion  that  "  before  this  trade  can  be  beneficially 
carried  on  there  must  be  an  intermediary  manufacturer, 
known  in  England  by  the  name  of  the  rough  cloth  maker, 
who  never  attempts  either  to  mill  or  dress  the  article." 
The  manufacture  at  Carrick  had  given  rise  to  one  for  blankets 
at  Kilkenny,  which  was  designed  to  carry  off  the  coarse 
parts  of  the  fleece,  but  both  these  manufactures  were  on  the 
decline. 

A  small  quantity  of  broad-cloth  was  made  in  Dublin, 
and  a  Yorkshire  firm  had  recently  opened  a  factory  at 
Celbridge,  where  they  had  set  up  the  shearing  machinery, 
which  the  English  weavers  had  not  permitted  to  be  erected 
in  Yorkshire. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  17 

In  1810  a  serious  crisis  occurred  in  the  woollen  industry. 
A  large  Government  contractor  failed,  and  his  failure  was 
followed  by  the  bankruptcy  of  almost  the  entire  woollen 
trade  in  Dublin.  Credit  was  affected  throughout  the  country  ; 
the  banks  refused  to  discount  the  woollen  manufacturers' 
bills  ;  and  a  general  crash  took  place.  Altogether  twenty- 
two  employers  stopped  work  as  a  result  of  this  crisis. 

Several  fresh  attempts,  however,  were  made  to  revive 
the  woollen  industry  on  a  large  scale,  and  to  raise  the  quality 
of  the  goods  produced.  Considerable  capital  was  invested 
in  these  enterprises.  A  big  Leeds  woollen  manufacturer, 
named  Willans,  set  up  factories  at  Kilmainham  and  Rath- 
farnham,  which  afterwards  gave  extensive  employment. 
It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that  a  certain  disposition 
was  shown  by  British  capitalists  to  invest  money  in  the 
establishment  of  industries  in  Ireland  as  long  as  the  small 
protective  duties  were  retained,  as,  while  these  duties  lasted, 
the  products  of  their  British  factories  were  at  a  slight  dis- 
advantage in  the  Irish  market,  and  it  was  thus  worth  their 
while  to  establish  themselves  in  a  locality  where  they  could 
enter  this  important  market  on  more  favourable  terms. 

For  a  few  years  the  woollen  industry  seems  to  have 
succeeded  in  achieving  a  reasonable  degree  of  prosperity, 
although  the  export  trade  did  not  show  any  sign  of  increasing. 
It  was  stated  in  1822  that  forty-five  manufacturers  were 
engaged  in  the  industry  in  and  around  Dublin,  that  2,885 
workpeople  were  employed,  and  that  the  annual  value  of  the 
products  amounted  to  £336,000.  At  the  same  time  in  the 
district  embracing  Cork,  Kilkenny,  and  Carrick-on-Suir, 
3,184  people  were  employed  on  the  manufacture,  the  annual 
produce  of  which  was  valued  at  £200,000  ;  while  in  the 
counties  of  Wicklow  and  Wexford  3,000  persons  were 
employed,  and  the  annual  value  of  the  products  averaged 
£55,000. 

In  1823  the  small  protecting  duties  on  the  import  of 
woollens  into  Ireland  were  withdrawn.  The  effect  of  this 
change  can  but  be  described  in  the  words  of  one  of  the 
witnesses  at  Mr.  Otway's  inquiry  on  the  hand-loom  weavers  : 
"  From  1812  to  the  withdrawal  of  the  protecting  duties, 
collisions  or  disputes  with  our  workmen  were  of  rare  occur- 
rence. .  .  .  From  1821  to  1825  (the  latter  being  the  year 
in  which  the  panic  of  November  and  December  occurred 


18  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

in  England)  the  trade  was  good  and  all  the  manufacturers 
fully  employed.  The  protecting  duties  ceased  in  1823  ;  but 
it  is  remarkable  that  this  withdrawal  was  hardly  felt  until 
the  spring  of  1826.  This  may  be  accounted  for,  first,  by  the 
trade  in  England  being  good  up  to  November,  1825,  and 
no  surplus  stock  on  hand  ;  therefore  no  actual  competition 
from  thence  in  this  market.  Secondly,  a  gradual  reduction 
in  the  high  rate  of  wages  previously  paid,  and  which  manu- 
facturers had  been  for  some  time  attempting,  in  order  that 
the  wages  paid  in  Ireland  should  approximate  more  to  those 
paid  in  Yorkshire,  and  which  they  to  a  considerable  extent 
succeeded  in  effecting,  calculating  on  the  active  competition 
which  they  would  encounter  from  the  English  manufacturers 
when  the  protecting  duties  ceased. 

"The  panic  of  November  and  December,  1825,  was  severely 
felt  in  Ireland.  The  accumulated  stocks  of  the  British 
manufacturers  were  bought  and  thrown  into  this  market 
in  large  quantities  and  at  such  low  prices  that  no  solvent 
person  could  attempt  to  compete  with  them,.-  Irish  manu- 
facturers had  not  only  to  contend  with  a  glutted  market, 
but  a  reduction  in  the  price  of  wool,  and  such  was  the 
reduction  from  these  causes  as  seriously  to  affect  the  stock 
on  hand ;  solvent  manufacturers  refused  to  sell  at  the  ruinous 
prices  then  offered,  and  in  general  their  manufacturing 
operations  were  discontinued.  This  cause  was  attended  to 
them  with  great  loss  in  another  respect.  Naps  and  coating, 
for  women's  wear,  being  the  principal  article  manufactured, 
were  by  the  low  price  of  English  cloth  put  out  of  fashion, 
cloths  being  generally  substituted  for  them.  The  Irish 
manufacturer  had  therefore  not  only  to  contend  with  low 
prices,  but  with  a  change  of  fashion  to  a  considerable  extent. 
This  period  of  depression  had  effect  on  the  wages  then  paid 
(though  much  reduced).  Masters  in  their  own  defence  were 
obliged  to  offer,  and  the  workmen  accepted,  wages  which  were 
considered  as  low  as  the  cheapest  district  in  Yorkshire.  The 
summer  of  1826  brought  with  it  great  suffering  to  the  work- 
men in  every  branch  of  manufacture  in  and  about  Dublin." 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  withdrawal  of  the 
protective  duties  caused  serious  damage  to  the  Irish  woollen 
industry.  Undoubtedly  the  existence  of  the  duties  may 
have  in  some  degree  created  a  false  feeling  of  security  amongst 
those  engaged  in  the  industry  in  Ireland,  and  delayed  the 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  19 

introduction  of  some  improved  processes  ;  but  on  the  other 
hand  it  certainly  kept  up  wages,  and  also  enabled  the  Irish 
manufacturer  to  compete  with  his  British  rivals  with 
some  hope  of  success  in  the  Irish  market.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  duties  were  protective  in  the  strict  sense 
of  the  word  ;  they  did  not  so  much  give  the  Irish  manu- 
facturer a  preference  in  the  Irish  market  over  the  English 
manufacturer,  as  place  him  on  something  like  an  equality 
with  the  latter.  Building  in  Ireland  was  dearer  than  in 
England  ;  the  cost  of  erecting  and  repairing  machinery 
was  much  greater ;  credit  was  more  difficult  and  more 
expensive  to  obtain  ;  coal  was  dearer ;  and  wages  were 
higher.  Labouring  as  he  did  under  all  these  disadvantages, 
the  Irish  manufacturer  was  in  urgent  need  of  some  protection 
against  his  Yorkshire  competitor,  who  was  favoured  by  so 
many  advantages  ;  and  the  creation  of  a  nominal  equality 
between  them  really  conferred  a  preference  on  the  latter. 

If  this  view  of  the  effect  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  protect- 
ing duties  be  correct,  it  should  modify  the  judgment  which 
we  might  at  first  be  inclined  to  pass  upon  the  behaviour  of 
the  weavers.  Undoubtedly  the  woollen  manufacturer  was  fre- 
quently interrupted  by  strikes  as  the  result  of  combinations 
amongst  the  operatives,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  these 
strikes  were  attempted,  not  so  much  to  improve  the  condition 
of  those  who  took  part  in  them,  as  to  arrest  the  disimprove- 
ment  which  they  found  thrust  upon  them.  As  long  as  the 
protecting  duties  lasted,  it  was  found  possible  to  pay  Irish 
weavers  a  higher  wage  than  that  current  in  Yorkshire  for 
the  same  class  of  work,  but  as  soon  as  they  were  withdrawn 
the  wages  sank  to  the  English  level,  and  at  a  later  date  they 
sank  far  below  it.  The  Irish  woollen  workers,  who  had  been 
the  best  paid  workers  engaged  in  the  woollen  manufacture  in 
the  United  Kingdom  at  the  time  of  the  Union,  were  the  worst 
paid  forty  years  later. 

When  Mr.  Otway  made  his  inquiry  into  the  condition  of 
the  hand-loom  weavers  in  1840,  he  found  that  woollen  manu- 
facture was  in  a  state  of  grave  decline.  The  manufacture 
in  and  around  Dublin  had  fallen  off  one  half  since  1822  ; 
the  annual  value  of  the  products  of  the  Cork,  Kilkenny,  and 
Carrick  district,  which  in  1822  had  amounted  to  £200,000, 
had  sunk  to  £20,000  ;  and  the  Wicklow  flannel  trade  was 
"  almost  extinct."  The  manufacture  of  woollen  cloth  was 


20  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

confined  to  the  city  and  suburbs  of  Dublin,  and  although 
improved  methods  were  being  introduced,  the  volume  of  the 
industry  was  deplorably  small.  There  were  only  250  woollen 
weavers  employed  in  Dublin,  and  the  average  wages  were 
only  from  eight  to  ten  shillings  a  week.  Dr.  Kane  in  his 
"  Industrial  Resources  of  Ireland,"  written  in  1845,  states 
that  "  at  present  the  woollen  trade  does  not  prove  an  excep- 
tion to  the  general  stagnation  of  industry  which  is  so  charac- 
teristic of  the  country."  The  suggestion  that  the  conduct 
of  the  weavers  was  in  any  way  responsible  for  the  decay  of 
the  industry  was  vigorously  contradicted  by  Mr.  Willans, 
an  English  employer,  who  said  :  "  The  character  of  the 
woollen  weavers  is,  I  believe,  generally  good.  We  have 
found  them  anxious  to  be  employed,  and  industrious  whilst 
so,  and  never  had  occasion  to  complain  of  embezzlement,  and 
in  general  they  obey  the  directions  as  to  their  work  with  more 
cheerfulness  and  satisfaction  than  we  have  experienced  from 
workmen  in  England." 

The  Irish  cotton  industry  had  made  great  progress  during 
the  last  twenty  years  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  1800, 
13,500  persons  were  employed  in  this  industry  within  a  radius 
of  ten  miles  around  Belfast.  Although  the  manufacture 
showed  greater  vitality  in  Ulster  than  in  the  south,  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  it  was  in  any  sense  confined  to  that 
province.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  widely  diffused  throughout 
the  south.  Wakefield  found  1,300  looms  at  work  at  Collon, 
County  Louth,  and  a  very  thriving  factory  at  Stratford-on- 
Slaney,  where  500  hands  were  employed  at  extremely  good 
wages.  The  owners  of  the  latter  factory  had  originally 
come  from  Paisley  to  Hillsborough,  but  they  could  not  get 
a  lease  for  their  premises,  and  therefore  moved  to  Stratford. 
This  throws  an  interesting  sidelight  on  the  intimate  connexion 
that  existed  between  the  Irish  land  system  and  Irish  industries, 
and  on  the  power  which  the  landlords  possessed  to  impede 
the  industrial  progress  of  the  localities  over  which  they  ruled. 
The  manufacture  of  muslins  was  carried  on  at  Mountmellick 
and  Bandon. 

During  the  first  twenty  years  after  the  Union  the  cotton 
industry  made  great  strides  in  Ireland,  and  attracted  many 
weavers  from  the  linen  industry  on  account  of  the  high  wages 
which  it  offered.  In  1816  the  high  protecting  duties  on  the 
importation  of  cotton  goods  into  Ireland  were  withdrawn, 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  21 

and  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  ten  per  cent  substituted  in  their 
place.  In  1823  even  this  low  duty  was  repealed.  The 
question  of  how  far  the  removal  of  the  duties  operated  in- 
juriously on  the  cotton  industry  is  a  matter  of  some  dispute. 
On  the  one  hand  the  fact  remains  that  the  industry  grew  up 
during  a  period  of  protection,  and  fell  into  decay  during  a 
period  of  free  trade;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  the 
statements  of  contemporary  inquirers  that  the  protecting 
duties  did  little  or  nothing  to  help  the  industry.  It  must  be 
remembered,  however,  that  the  economists  of  the  time  were 
obsessed  by  the  infallibility  of  laissez  faire,  and  that  they  were 
quite  incapable  of  believing  that  any  measure  of  protection 
could,  under  any  circumstances,  be  beneficial.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  Irish  manufacturers  themselves  regretted 
the  abolition  of  the  protecting  duties.  One  witness,  who  had 
formerly  been  engaged  in  the  calico-printing  trade  in  Dublin, 
gave  the  following  evidence  before  the  Irish  Poor  Law  Com- 
mission in  1835  :  "  The  calico-printing  trade  increased  very 
substantially  in  Dublin  during  the  first  twenty  years  of  the 
present  century.  The  number  of  hands  employed  increased 
from  one  to  five  hundred.  But  each  step  in  the  removal  of 
the  protecting  duties  was  very  soon  felt.  Soon  after  the 
first  reduction  took  place  the  manufacturers  began  sensibly 
to  feel  the  injury,  from  having  such  a  glut  of  English  goods 
brought  into  the  market,  and  were  obliged  to  discharge  a 
great  number  of  their  men.  The  second  reduction  made  bad 
worse,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  the  trade  gradually 
sank  to  decay." 

In  1840  the  trade  was  becoming  more  and  more  localized 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Belfast  and  was  almost  altogether 
confined  to  county  Antrim.  In  the  early  part  of  the  century 
it  extended  itself  through  several  parts  of  Ireland,  and  was 
carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent  in  Dublin,  Drogheda, 
Collon,  Stratford,  Mountmellick,  Limerick,  and  Bandon. 
Belfast  however  was  not  only  the  place  in  which  it  was  first 
introduced,  but  the  centre  to  which  capital  and  skill  were 
attracted ;  and,  as  the  trade  increased  at  Randalstown, 
Belfast,  and  Coleraine,  it  declined  in  the  other  parts  of  the 
Kingdom  where  it  had  been  introduced.  The  position  of 
Belfast,  as  regards  the  great  cotton-weaving  districts  of 
Scotland,  in  the  north  of  England,  and  its  increasing  trade  as 
the  Liverpool  of  Ireland,  held  out  advantages  for  the  importa- 


22  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

tion  of  the  material,  and  the  introduction  of  the  improved 
machinery  which  was  being  applied  to  its  manufacture 
in  England  and  Scotland,  possessed  in  no  other  part  of  Ireland. 
The  small  manufacturers  scattered  over  the  other  parts  of  the 
kingdom  were  precluded  from  contending  with  the  concen- 
trated capital  and  skill  which  the  local  advantages  of  Belfast 
attracted  towards  it :  consequently  the  trade,  while  it  rapidly 
extended  in  the  County  Antrim,  and  portions  of  the  County 
Down,  adjacent  to  Belfast,  generally  declined,  and  for  all 
practical  purposes  might  be  almost  considered  as  extinct  in  the 
other  parts  of  Ireland,  although  large  manufactories  had  been 
established  at  Clonmel,  Portlaw,  and  Limerick,  and  carried 
on  with  considerable  success.  At  Bangor,  Greyabbey,  and 
Newtownards  the  cotton  trade  was  carried  on  to  a  very 
considerable  extent. 

Even  in  Belfast  the  manufacture  was  rapidly  disappearing, 
owing  to  the  cheaper  production  in  England  and  Scotland. 
With  the  exception  of  half-a-dozen  mills  engaged  in  the  spin- 
ning of  yarn,  the  cotton  trade  was  practically  confined  to  the 
production  of  fabrics  by  hand-loom  labour.  A  serious  fall 
in  the  rate  of  wages  had  taken  place.  A  man  who  in  1790 
could  earn  four  shillings  a  day,  could  earn  only  a  shilling  a 
day  in  1840.  Of  the  10,000  weavers  employed  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Belfast,  5,000  were  employed  by  the 
Scotch  manufacturers,  and  600  by  a  Carlisle  firm.  These 
British  houses  employed  Irish  labour,  simply  because  of 
its  excessive  cheapness,  and  Ireland  could  derive  but  little 
advantage  from  an  industry  carried  on  on  this  system.  The 
decay  of  the  manufacture  was  attributed  to  the  lack  of  Irish 
capital  to  introduce  improved  processes,  and  by  the  too  great 
uniformity  of  the  goods  produced.  The  cotton-printing  trade 
had  entirely  disappeared. 

The  only  places  outside  Ulster  where  the  manufacture  was 
carried  on  were  Limerick,  Clonmel,  and  Portlaw.  In  Limerick 
the  trade  had  been  extinct  from  1820  to  1835,  but  in  the 
latter  year  a  Scotchman,  named  Buchanan,  had  been  attracted 
to  the  town  because,  in  his  own  words,  "  the  population  was 
poorer  and  more  numerous  than  in  any  other  town  in  Ireland." 
He  brought  over  weavers  from  Paisley  and  Glasgow,  and 
apprenticed  many  Limerick  boys  to  the  trade.  In  1840  Mr. 
Buchanan's  factory  gave  employment  to  200  boys  as 
weavers,  and  drawboys  at  the  wretched  wages  of  from  two 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  23 

shillings  to  four  shillings  a  week,  and  to  twenty  boys  and  girls 
as  winders  at  a  slightly  higher  wage.  Originally  it  had  been 
intended  to  make  plain  goods,  on  the  ground  that  the 
cheapness  of  the  labour  would  enable  these  goods  to  compete 
with  similar  goods  made  by  power-looms  in  England  and 
Scotland  ;  but  this  expectation  was  falsified,  and  the  only 
goods  manufactured  in  1840  were  shawls,  for  which,  however, 
it  was  difficult  to  find  a  market,  as  the  people  in  the  adjoining 
countries  had  grown  accustomed  to  Scotch  shawls. 

The  manufacture  of  plain  cotton  by  hand-loom  labour  was 
carried  on  at  Clonmel.  In  1840,  176  hand-looms  were 
engaged,  the  girls  who  worked  them  receiving  about  three 
shillings  a  week.  The  continued  existence  of  this  factory  was 
only  rendered  possible  by  the  fact  that  it  was  able  to  obtain 
yarn  cheap  from  Portlaw,  where  the  same  proprietor  conducted 
a  large  power-loom  manufacture. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  century  Bandon  had  been  a 
flourishing  centre  of  the  cotton  industry.  In  1825  2,000 
cotton  weavers  had  been  employed  in  the  town,  at  wages 
of  about  twelve  shillings  a  week.  The  trade  prospered  up 
to  about  1829,  when  it  ceased  to  be  able  to  compete  with  the 
English  goods  which  were  sent  into  the  market.  "  The  power- 
looms  swept  away  the  trade  in  three  or  four  years."  Mr. 
Otway  gives  the  following  terrible  account  of  the  condition 
of  the  Bandon  weavers  in  1840  :  "  Nothing  can  equal  the 
distress  of  the  poor  cotton  weavers  of  Bandon.  I  never 
witnessed  greater  misery  than  in  their  cabins  and  mode  of 
living;  few,  however,  remained  at  the  trade,  except  old  or 
infirm  persons,  and  a  few  young  boys,  whom  the  poor  parents 
try  to  keep  at  the  loom  in  order  to  preserve  them  from 
absolute  destitution.  I  did  not  meet  what  I  could  call  an  able- 
bodied  individual  on  a  cotton  loom.  The  moment  the  young 
weavers  are  able  to  turn  to  anything  else,  they  quit  the  loom, 
and,  if  they  cannot  obtain  labouring  work,  quit  this  part  of 
the  country,  and  look  for  employment  elsewhere,  or  enlist. 
Bandon  is  one  of  the  best  depots  for  obtaining  recruits  in  the 
south  of  Ireland." 

The  twenty  years  following  the  Union  was  the  first  period 
since  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  which  the 
export  of  Irish  linen  did  not  increase.  The  temporary  stand- 
still which  the  linen  industry  experienced  at  this  time  was 
largely  caused  by  the  prosperity  of  the  cotton  manufacture, 


24  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

which  attracted  many  weavers  away  from  the  linen  on  account 
of  the  much  higher  rate  of  wages  which  it  offered.  In  1809 
and  1813  the  exports  fell  away  very  considerably  owing  to 
conditions  caused  by  the  war.  Although  the  quantity  of 
Irish  linen  manufactured  in  this  period  did  not  appreciably 
increase,  its  quality  improved,  and  the  exports  after  1800 
consisted  principally  of  fine  linen. 

Wakefield  gives  the  following  account  of  the  linen  industry 
in  1812.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  how  widespread  the 
manufacture  was  at  that  date  compared  with  what  it  was  a 
few  years  later  :  "  Narrow  linens  are  made  in  Donegal, 
Londonderry,  Tyrone,  and  Antrim,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Belfast,  Lisburn,  and  Lurgan  cambric  lawns  and  diapers  are 
made,  in  Armagh  coarser  yard-wide  cloths.  Cavan  produces 
a  thin  cloth  for  the  most  part  |  wide.  Fermanagh  and  Sligo 
manufacture  £ ;  and  in  the  countries  are  found  most  of  the 
bleach  greens,  which  finish  for  sale  those  linens  which  are 
sent  in  a  bleached  state  to  England.  A  strong  kind  of  £ 
dowlas,  some  |  and  f  sheetings  made  in  Louth,  Meath,  and 
Dublin  are  sold  in  the  market  of  Drogheda,  and  find  their  way 
in  an  unfinished  state  into  the  country  markets  of  England, 
a  coarse  cloth  very  like  Scotch  Osnaburgs  is  manufactured 
in  Kerry  and  Cork,  and  is  used  in  the  same  manner  as  Osna- 
burgs for  negro  clothing.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Dingle 
a  strong  fabric  is  made  called  box  and  trap.  The  manufacture 
of  sail  cloth  is  confined  to  Cork." 

As  we  have  seen,  the  cotton  manufacture  began  to  decline 
about  1830,  and  this  decline  caused  many  weavers  to  turn  to 
the  linen  manufacture.  A  revival  of  the  industry  conse- 
quently took  place,  which  was  aided  on  by  the  introduction 
at  about  the  same  date  of  the  wet  spinning  process.  This 
revival,  however,  was  confined  to  Ulster,  and  no  corresponding 
movement  took  place  in  the  languishing  manufacture  of  the 
south  and  west. 

The  spirit  of  laissez  faire  made  itself  felt  in  the  linen 
industry  in  1826,  when  the  Government  informed  the  Linen 
Board  that  the  grant  for  the  encouragement  of  the  manufac- 
ture would  be  reduced  in  1827  to  £10,000  ;  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  the  grant  was  altogether  discontinued.  In  1828 
an  important  Act  was  passed,  with  the  full  approval  of  those 
engaged  in  the  linen  industry,  dissolving  the  Linen  Board, 
and  vesting  its  property  in  the  Crown.  A  very  comprehen- 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  25 

sive  control  of  the  industry  was,  however,  still  maintained, 
and  many  regulations  were  re-enacted.  County  committees 
were  established  to  control  the  brown  sealmasters  who  were 
continued  in  office.  These  provisions  for  regulating  the  trade 
were  re-enacted  from  time  to  time,  but  were  finally  allowed  to 
lapse  in  1842. 

In  1840  the  linen  industry  had  become  definitely  localized  in 
north-east  Ulster,  a  phenomenon  the  causes  of  which  we  shall 
discuss  at  a  later  page.  Belfast  was  a  great  centre  of  spinning, 
but  not  of  weaving ;  it  was  the  great  emporium  of  the  linen 
trade  of  Ireland,  and  the  centre  to  which  the  linens,  not  only 
of  the  Ulster  counties,  but  also  of  the  linen-weaving  districts 
of  the  west  of  Ireland,  were  sent  for  sale.  Large  quantities  of 
linen  were  directly  exported  from  Belfast  to  foreign  countries ; 
but  the  greater  quantity  was  sent  through  Liverpool.  Belfast 
was  also  the  great  linen  yarn  market  of  Ireland,  where  the 
principal  manufacturers  obtained  their  supply  of  either 
Scotch,  English,  Irish,  or  foreign  yarn.  The  amount  of  the 
value  of  the  hand-spun  yarn  sold  per  annum  in  Belfast  was 
stated  to  be  £100,000.  Extensive  mills,  to  the  number  of 
fifteen  in  the  town,  besides  four  others  in  the  neighbourhood 
for  the  spinning  of  linen  yarn,  were  established ;  and  the  yarn 
they  produced  was  equal  in  quality  to  any  made  in  the  United 
Kingdom.  One-fourth  of  the  flax  for  their  consumption  was 
imported. 

There  were  at  the  same  time  about  six  or  eight  hundred 
hand-loom  weavers  in  Belfast.  Hand-loom  weaving  factories 
had  recently  been  introduced  and  were  rapidly  extending. 
The  weavers  in  these  factories  were  principally  employed  on 
canvas,  sacking,  damasks  and  coarse  linens.  The  weavers 
greatly  objected  to  the  introduction  of  the  factory  system, 
as  it  put  them  too  much  in  the  power  of  their  employers, 
and  prevented  them  from  the  free  exercise  of  their  labour. 
The  advantages,  however,  of  the  factories  were  so  great  and 
so  obvious  as  to  overrule  all  objections. 

The  linen  industry  was  widely  spread  throughout  the 
counties  of  Down  and  Armagh.  The  old  custom  of  a  linen 
weaver  owning  a  patch  of  land  and  supplementing  his 
earnings  by  means  of  farming  was  gradually  dying  out.  This 
change,  while  undoubtedly  beneficial  to  the  agriculture  of  the 
northern  counties,  operated  to  make  the  weavers  absolutely 
dependent  on  the  manufacture  for  a  living.  In  some  remote 


26  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

parts  of  County  Down  the  old  system  still  prevailed,  and 
where  it  did,  the  wages  paid  for  weaving  were  very  low. 

Banbridge  was  the  principal  seat  of  the  manufacture  in  the 
north  of  Ireland.  It  was  in  this  neighbourhood  that  some  of 
the  first  manufacturers  who  invested  large  capital  in  the  linen 
trade  established  themselves,  and  here  the  great  experiment  of 
placing  the  linen  trade  of  Ireland  on  a  new  foundation  was 
tried.  The  great  subdivision  of  the  capital  invested  in  the 
linen  trade,  the  want  of  a  proper  division  of  labour  being 
applied  to  it,  and  a  direct  market  for  the  disposal  of  the  pro- 
duce year  by  year,  rendered  it  more  apparent  that  it  could 
be  no  longer  continued  on  its  former  system.  On  the  repeal 
of  the  protecting  duties,  and  the  introduction  of  mill-spun 
yarn  into  England  and  Scotland,  it  became  evident  to  the 
capitalists  in  the  north  of  Ireland  either  that  the  linen  trade 
should  be  placed  on  a  new  foundation,  and  conducted  on  the 
improved  principles  that  were  being  applied  to  its  manufacture 
in  the  other  portions  of  the  United  Kingdom,  or  that  Ireland 
should  lose  its  linen  trade  altogether.  The  result  was  that  the 
linen  manufacture  was  placed  on  a  new  foundation,  and  men 
of  extensive  capital  and  skill  became  engaged  in  it. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Lurgan,  Tandragee,  and  Dungannon 
much  linen  continued  to  be  manufactured  on  the  old  system, 
which  however  was  gradually  being  superseded  from  the 
necessities  of  the  case.  The  independent  weavers  found  a 
difficulty  in  obtaining  sufficiently  small  quantities  of  machine- 
spun  yarn,  and  hand-spun  yarn  was  no  longer  of  any  use. 

Outside  the  counties  of  Down  and  Armagh  the  linen  manu- 
facture was  rapidly  disappearing.  "  From  Dungannon," 
says  Mr.  Otway,  "  I  proceeded  to  Strabane,  at  one  period 
the  great  yarn  market  of  the  counties  of  Tyrone,  Donegal, 
parts  of  Armagh,  Deny,  and  Down,  and  the  place  to  which 
the  yarn  produced  in  Fermanagh,  Cavan,  Monaghan,  Leitrim, 
and  Sligo  was  sent  for  sale.  The  trade  is  almost  at  an  end, 
the  introduction  of  mill-spun  yarn  having  limited  the  market 
and  the  profit  of  hand-spun  yarn." 

In  the  County  Donegal  weaving  was  principally  confined 
to  those  who  wove  for  the  immediate  wants  of  the  farmers,  or 
for  sale  in  the  county  fairs  and  markets.  These  weavers 
had  full  employment  only  from  the  first  of  May  to  the  first 
of  January  in  each  year,  with  the  omission  of  a  month  at 
harvest  time,  and  for  the  remainder  of  the  year  only  had  half- 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  27 

time  employment.  The  continuance  of  the  old  system  of 
double  occupations  was  thus  icndered  a  necessity. 

In  County  Sligo  Mr.  Otway  found  "  merely  the  traces  of  a 
linen  manufacture  ;  the  linen  hall  of  considerable  extent  was 
hired  out  as  a  general  warehouse,  and  hardly  a  single  web 
presented  for  sale.  On  what  were  the  linen  market  days  a 
few  spinners  still  hawk  hand-spun  linen  through  the  streets, 
but  both  the  quality  and  the  quantity  of  the  yarn  offered  for 
sale  is  utterly  insignificant."  Mr.  Otway  considered  what  he 
saw  in  Sligo  to  be  "  a  decided  proof  of  the  correctness  of  the 
statement  that  the  linen  trade  in  Ireland  could  not  be  pre- 
served on  the  old  system  on  which  it  was  conducted.  The 
old  system,"  he  proceeds,  "died  a  natural  death,  and  the 
new  system  was  not  introduced.  The  small  portion  of  linen 
now  made  up  for  the  use  of  the  peasantry  continues  to  exist 
solely  from  the  want  of  ready  money  amongst  the  people." 

The  linen  manufacture  in  Drogheda  had  experienced  a 
particularly  rapid  decay,  and  the  condition  of  the  weavers 
in  7840  was  terrible.  About  1,900  persons  were  still 
able  to  obtain  occasional  employment,  but  the  wages 
which  they  could  earn  were  deplorably  low.  The  lowest 
wages  paid  in  the  trade  were  in  Drogheda,  where  the 
weavers  were  in  a  most  distressed  condition.  The  average 
wage  earned  during  periods  of  employment,  which  were  very 
intermittent,  was  about  four  shillings  a  week,  and  the  average 
number  of  persons  dependent  on  each  weaver  was  six. 
The  manner  in  which  this  wretched  income  was  supplemented 
so  as  to  provide  subsistence  for  the  weaver  and  his  family  is 
thus  described  by  Mr.  Otway  :  "  The  poor  weavers  supply 
themselves  with  the  lowest  species  of  vegetable  food,  and 
provide  a  place  of  shelter,  if  shelter  it  can  be  called,  to  live 
and  weave  in,  so  as  to  keep  off  actual  destitution.  The  poor 
weaver  collects  manure,  and  is  then  able  to  plant  potatoes, 
enough  to  last  from  three  to  four  months,  on  ground  obtained 
gratis  from  some  neighbouring  farmer,  who  is  glad  to  give  the 
potato  crop  for  the  sake  of  the  corn  crop,  which  the  manure 
will  enable  kim  to  obtain  the  next  year.  Now  there  is  wanting 
about  half  an  acre  more  to  supply  potatoes  for  the  remainder 
of  the  year,  and  this  ground  is  taken  in  conacre,  from  some 
farmer  who  has  manured  or  rich  grass  land  to  let  which  will 
give  a  good  crop  of  potatoes.  For  this  he  agrees  to  pay  about 
£4.  Thus  provision  being  made  for  the  main  food  of  his 


28  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

family,  it  devolves  on  his  industry  to  procure  clothing,  and 
to  pay  the  rent  of  his  conacre  ground  and  cabin.  The  industry 
of  his  wife  and  children,  by  the  fattening  of  a  pig,  or  in  some 
cases  the  sale  of  eggs  and  poultry,  or  by  begging  through  the 
district,  enable  the  family  to  procure  a  little  milk  or 
'  kitchen  '  as  it  is  called.  How  the  weavers  who  live  in  the 
centre  of  the  towns  manage  it  is  impossible  to  imagine. 
The  cabins  that  the  weavers  live  and  work  in  are  fearful 
specimens  of  what  habit  will  enable  a  human  being  to  endure  ; 
it  is  impossible  that  any  good  description  of  work  could  be 
woven  in  such  sinks  of  filth  ;  but  the  very  dirt  is  their  prin- 
cipal means  of  support.  That  a  corporate  town,  entrusted 
with  public  property  for  the  benefit  of  its  inhabitants,  should 
have  permitted  such  a  state  of  things  is  to  me  inexplicable  ; 
I  am  persuaded  that  no  part  of  Europe,  or  I  might  add,  of 
the  world,  presents  such  a  spectacle  of  dwellings  for  human 
beings  as  part  of  Drogheda." 

The  decline  of  the  linen  manufacture  in  Drogheda  was 
caused  by  the  English  and  Scotch  competition  in  the  manu- 
facture of  coarse  linens.  The  fine  linen  manufacturers  were 
not  affected  by  this  competition,  but  they  migrated  one  by 
one  to  Down,  Antrim,  and  Derry,  as  they  found  that  the  manu- 
facture could  be  more  economically  and  profitably  conducted 
in  those  counties.  The  hand-loom  weavers,  however,  did  not 
migrate  at  the  same  time,  and  were  left  without  employment. 
The  introduction  of  mill-spun  yarn  administered  the  final 
blow  to  the  industry  in  Drogheda. 

The  condition  of  the  industry  in  other  parts  of  the  south  and 
west  was  the  same  as  in  Sligo  and  Drogheda.  It  had  generally 
disappeared,  except  for  the  making  up  of  some  coarse  linen 
for  the  peasantry,  except  in  a  few  isolated  districts  where 
the  almost  total  absence  of  any  employment  for  the  great  mass 
of  the  people  had  rendered  hand-loom  labour  so  cheap  as  to 
enable  some  webs  of  coarse  cloth  to  be  occasionally  made  up. 
The  quality  of  the  linen  produced  was  deteriorating ;  looms 
were  generally  in  disrepair  ;  and  in  some  districts  the  hand  was 
used  instead  of  a  fly  shuttle.  It  was  Mr.  Otway's  opinion  that 
it  was  "  only  a  matter  of  time  until  the  linen  industry  was 
totally  extinct.' ' 

The  industry  had  also  almost  disappeared  in  Dublin,  where 
it  was  restricted  within  very  narrow  limits,  and  confined 
to  one  or  two  manufacturers,  of  whom  Crosthwaites  were 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  29 

the  principal,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  coarse 
canvas  and  sail-cloth  manufacturers.  The  rate  of  wages 
in  Dublin  was  from  eight  to  twelve  shillings  a  week,  and 
the  working  day  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hours. 

Thus  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
linen  manufacture  disappeared  from  three-fourths  of  Ireland, 
but  succeeded  in  developing  in  the  north.  The  extent  of 
the  manufacture,  however,  even  in  Ulster,  was  really  not 
very  great  when  compared  with  the  English  and  Scotch 
manufactures,  and  it  derived  its  importance  in  the  industrial 
life  of  the  country  from  the  absence  of  other  industries. 
This  is  well  put  in  Kane's  Industrial  Resources  of  Ireland : 

"  The  extent  of  this  manufacture  stands  in  such  relief 
from  the  usual  absence  of  all  manufacturing  industry  in 
Ireland  that  we  frequently  attach  to  it  a  degree  of  importance 
and  an  idea  of  absolute  magnitude  that  it  does  not  really 
possess.  In  reality  Ireland  is  almost  as  much  behind  in  this 
as  in  every  other  branch  of  industry.  The  town  of  Dundee 
alone  is  considered  to  manufacture  as  much  linen  as  all 
Ireland,  and  the  relation  which  the  manufacture  of  flax 
bears  in  the  three  kingdoms  is  exactly  shown  in  the  following 
figures,  which  are  extracted  from  the  report  of  the  factory 
inspector  for  1839,  since  which  period  no  sensible  alteration 
has  taken  place. 

"  In  England  there  were  169  mills  worked  by  4,260  horse- 
power and  employing  16,573  persons. 

"  In  Scotland  there  were  183  mills  worked  by  4,845  horse- 
power and  employing  17,897  persons. 

"  In  Ireland  there  were  40  mills  worked  by  1,980  horse- 
power and  employing  9,017  persons." 

The  silk  industry  was  completely  suspended  during  the 
rebellion  of  1798,  and  it  did  not  ever  really  recover  its  former 
prosperity.  Undoubtedly  the  Union,  by  causing  the  emigra- 
tion of  a  great  number  of  the  Irish  nobility  and  gentry  to 
London,  seriously  diminished  the  demand  for  silk  goods  in 
Dublin.  Still  more  serious  was  the  competition  now  begin- 
ning to  be  offered  by  the  English  industry,  which  was  rapidly 
extending  in  Macclesfield  and  Manchester.  Before  1821  the 
Irish  industry  was  to  some  extent  protected  against  British 
goods  by  the  ten  per  cent  protecting  duty,  retained  by  the 
Act  of  Union  ;  but  in  spite  of  the  duty  the  British  manu- 
facturers were  by  their  increased  command  of  capital  able 


30  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

to  undersell  the  Dublin  manufacturers  even  in  the  Irish 
market. 

In  1821  the  protecting  duties  on  importation  from  England 
expired  ;  and  a  few  years  later  foreign  silks  were  allowed  to 
be  imported  into  the  United  Kingdom.  The  opening  up  of 
steam  communication  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
still  further  increased  the  competition  ;  and  in  the  panic 
of  1825  the  Irish  market  was  inundated  with  goods  at  a 
price  less  than  the  cost  of  the  raw  material.  "From  that 
date,"  says  Mr.  Otway,  "  the  loss  of  the  silk  trade  was 
rendered  inevitable." 

"  In  1825,"  we  read  in  the  evidence  before  the  Poor  Law 
Commission  of  1833,  "  the  removal  of  the  protecting  duties 
took  place,  and  the  regulations  of  the  Dublin  Society  were 
done  away  with.  At  that  time  the  low  price  of  labour  in 
England  enabled  the  English  manufacturers  to  sell  their 
goods  at  a  much  less  price  than  they  could  get  them  prepared 
here.  .  .  .  Our  trade  rapidly  declined." 

From  the  date  of  the  removal  of  the  protecting  duties 
the  silk  trade  gradually  sunk  out  of  existence ;  it  dwindled 
into  a  mere  court  luxury,  dependent  on  the  capricious 
smile  of  viceregal  patronage,  or  the  uncertain  support  of 
charity  balls.  The  number  of  silk  weavers  remaining  in 
Dublin  in  1840  was  about  400,  and  employment  was  very 
irregular.  The  rate  of  wages  per  week  was  higher  than  in 
Manchester,  but  the  irregularity  of  employment  was  so  great 
that  the  English  weavers  earned  much  more  in  the  year. 

It  has  been  very  generally  stated  that  the  downfall  of  the 
silk  industry  in  Ireland  was  hastened  by  combinations. 
Otway  said  :  "It  cannot  be  doubted  that  illegal  and  dan- 
gerous combinations  among  the  workmen  have  operated 
most  injuriously  on  the  trade,  driving  many  of  the  most 
extensive  manufacturers  out  of  it,  and  deterring  others  from 
directing  their  capital  and  intelligence  towards  it.  If  not 
checked  the  system  will  speedily  drive  away  the  remaining 
portion  of  the  trade." 

It  is  impossible,  however,  to  help  feeling  that  the  com- 
binations were  rather  the  effect  than  the  cause  of  the  decay 
of  the  trade.  In  1824  the  weavers  voluntarily  consented 
to  a  reduction  of  fifteen  per  cent  of  their  wages  in  order  to 
enable  their  employers  to  meet  the  growing  competition, 
and  it  is  probable  that  what  we  said  about  the  combinations 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  31 

in  the  woollen  industry  is  also  true  of  the  silk  industry, 
namely,  that  the  efforts  of  the  workmen  were  not  directed 
so  much  to  improve  their  position  as  to  ward  off  its  dis- 
improvement. 

Even  the  provision  trade,  which  had  continued  to  flourish 
through  many  vicissitudes,  declined  in  the  early  nineteenth 
century.  In  1812  Wakefield  found  it  very  prosperous.  It 
was,  however,  principally  confined  to  Cork,  from  which  beef, 
pork,  and  butter  were  exported  in  large  quantities.  About 
10,000  oxen  and  8,000  cows  were  slaughtered  annually 
in  Cork.  "  The  expedition,"  says  Wakefield,  "  with  which 
the  animals  are  slaughtered,  the  meat  cut  up  and  salted, 
and  afterwards  packed,  is  astonishing.  As  the  people 
employed  in  the  business  have  acquired  great  experience  by 
habit,  every  part  of  it  is  conducted  with  the  utmost  regularity 
and  despatch."  However,  even  at  that  date  the  export  of 
live  cattle  was  increasing  ;  the  blockading  system  rendered 
necessary  a  large  supply  of  live  cattle  for  the  ships  of  war  ; 
and  the  supply  of  this  demand  was  confined  to  England. 
Irish  cattle  dealers  were  in  this  way  tempted  to  transport 
their  cattle  to  England,  where  they  would  have  an  opportunity 
of  being  purchased  for  the  navy.  The  manufacture  of  bacon 
and  hams  continued  to  be  carried  on  on  an  extensive  scale 
at  Limerick,  Clonmel,  and  Waterford. 

At  this  time  the  Irish  provision  trade  was  in  a  very  advan- 
tageous position  with  regard  to  its  supply  of  salt,  which  on 
importation  to  Great  Britain  paid  a  duty  of  £40  a  ton,  whereas 
the  corresponding  duty  in  Ireland  was  only  £4.  At  the 
termination  of  the  war,  however,  the  duties  were  equalized, 
and  thenceforth  the  advantage  in  obtaining  supplies  of  salt 
was  in  favour  of  Great  Britain,  owing  to  the  almost  total 
absence  of  salt  works  in  Ireland. 

In  1827  the  high  duties  which  had  excluded  foreign 
provisions  from  Newfoundland  were  repealed.  The  Irish 
provision  merchant  thus  lost  his  preference  in  the  New- 
foundland market,  and  the  trade  immediately  decayed. 
A  few  years  later  the  differential  import  duties  in  the  West 
Indies  were  also  repealed,  and  Irish  provisions  were  soon 
undersold  by  American.  Peel's  free  trade  policy  threw  the 
British  market  open  to  foreigners,  and  the  Irish  provision 
trade  suffered  another  severe  blow. 

The  industry  was  further  discouraged  by  the  increase  of 


32  MODERN   IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

steam  navigation  in  the  Irish  Channel,  and  the  consequent 
ease  with  which  live  cattle  could  be  transported  to  Great 
Britain.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  latter  trade  may  be  judged 
from  the  following  figures  : 

Cattle  exported 
from  Ireland  to 
Great  Britain. 

Three  years  ending  March  25,  1800  -  14,105 

Three  years  ending  January  5,  1826  -  57,395 

Year  ending  January  5,  1847  -  186,483 

Year  ending  January  5,  1850  201,811 

In  view  of  the  fall-off  in  the  dead  meat  trade  which  took 
place  as  the  result  of  these  causes,  the  curing  of  bacon  came 
to  be  the  principal  branch  of  the  provision  industry.  But 
even  this  experienced  a  severe  decline  as  a  result  of  the  famine, 
and  the  consequent  disappearance  by  emigration  of  the  cottiers 
and  small  farmers  who  were  the  principal  breeders  of  pigs. 

After  this  long  recitation  of  decaying  manufactures,  it  is 
pleasant  to  be  able  to  record  that  the  brewing  industry  did 
not  decline,  but  on  the  contrary  expanded  during  the  period 
under  review.  Wakefield  found  flourishing  breweries  in 
existence  in  Cork,  Fermoy,  Limerick,  Waterford,  Roscrea, 
Belfast,  Navan,  Armagh,  Donoughmore,  and  Dungannon. 
The  export  of  Irish  beer  gradually  increased,  and  the  Irish 
brewers  supplied  practically  the  whole  Irish  market  as  well. 
The  industry  received  a  severe  period  of  depression  during 
Father  Mathew's  temperance  movement,  but  afterwards 
regained  its  prosperity.  "  It  is  only  necessary  to  say  with 
respect  to  the  Irish  brewing  trade,"  writes  John  Francis 
Maguire  in  his  valuable  Guide  to  the  Cork  Exhibition  of  1852, 
"  that  it  is  recovering  from  the  serious  injury  which  it 
sustained  by  the  temperance  movement,  and  the  renewed 
depression  in  the  year  of  the  famine  ;  that  its  home  consump- 
tion is  very  little  interfered  with  by  English  importation  ; 
and  that  the  Irish  brewers  on  the  contrary  do  a  large  and 
increasing  business  in  England  and  with  foreign  countries." 

The  distilling  industry  also  increased.  Wakefield  found 
that  the  progress  of  legal  distilling  was  greatly  impeded  by 
the  competition  of  illicit  stills,  which  were  very  numerous, 
and  the  total  number  of  licensed  distilleries  in  1810  only 
amounted  to  nine.  In  1821  the  quantity  of  spirits  produced 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  33 

in  Ireland  on  which  duty  was  paid  was  3,627,552  gallons  ; 
in  1825  it  had  increased  to  8,835,027  gallons  ;  and  in  1836 
to  11,894,169  gallons.  Father  Mathew's  temperance  move- 
ment seriously  affected  the  distilling  trade  for  a  few  years  ; 
the  output  fell  off  from  12,000,000  gallons  in  1839  to  5,000,000 
in  1843.  During  this  period  of  depression  two-thirds  of  the 
distilleries  were  crushed  out  of  existence ;  but  the  trade 
afterwards  revived. 

Another  industry  which  did  not  decline  in  the  first  half 
of  the  nineteenth  century  was  shipbuilding.  The  intro- 
duction of  steam  navigation  in  1824  greatly  increased  the 
volume  of  the  cross-channel  trade,  and  the  demand  for 
new  ships  was  to  a  large  extent  met  by  Irish  ship- 
builders. In  1824  an  important  shipyard  was  established 
at  Belfast,  but  its  proper  development  was  impeded  by 
absence  of  a  port  authority  with  power  to  improve  the 
navigation  of  the  Lagan.  Between  1824  and  1854  about 
fifty  wooden  vessels,  chiefly  brigs  and  schooners  of  from 
one  hundred  to  three  hundred  tons,  were  built  in  Belfast ; 
two  wooden  steamers  and  a  few  iron-built  steamers  were 
also  launched.  Shipbuilding  was  also  carried  on  in  Cork  on 
a  fairly  extensive  scale.  After  1845  several  steamships  were 
built ;  and  one  large  shipyard  in  1850  gave  employment  to 
370  workers.  Shipbuilding  was  also  carried  on  in  Drogheda 
and  Waterford,  but  it  had  been  driven  out  of  Dublin  early 
in  the  century  as  a  result  of  incessant  labour  disputes.  Thus 
before  1850  Belfast  had  not  attained  its  position  of  supremacy 
in  the  shipbuilding  industry  which  it  occupies  to-day  ;  and 
the  industry  was  more  generally  diffused  throughout  the 
country. 

With  the  brewing,'  distilling,  and  shipbuilding  industries 
we  have  completed  the  list  of  the  manufactures  that  increased 
during  the  fifty  years  following  the  Union  ;  and  the  few  minor 
industries  which  it  remains  for  us  to  mention  experienced  a 
decline. 

The  glass  industry,  which  had  been  so  prosperous  at  the 
time  of  the  Union,  practically  disappeared  before  1850.  The 
following  extract  from  John  Francis  Maguire's  Guide  to  Cork 
Exhibition,  1852,  gives  a  good  account  of  the  decline  of  this 
important  branch  of  industry  :  "  Irish  glass  is  rather  a  thing 
of  the  past  than  of  the  present ;  a  matter  of  regret  rather 
than  a  source  of  enjoyment.  The  people  of  this  country  are 


34  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

now  almost  wholly  dependent  for  their  supply  of  glass  on 
the  English  makers.  This  was  not  so  at  one  time,  and  that 
not  very  remote ;  for  there  were  several  glass-houses  in 
Ireland,  manufacturing  an  article  of  superior  quality,  and 
some  of  them  even  making  largely  for  exportation  to  foreign 
countries.  In  1825  there  were  no  less  than  eleven  flint  glass 
factories  all  in  full  work.  A  little  less  than  twenty  years 
since  there  were  about  seven  full-worked  factories  in  Ireland 
— two  in  Dublin,  two  in  Cork,  one  in  Waterford,  one  in 
Newry,  and  one  in  Belfast.  At  present  there  are  but  three 
glass-houses  in  all  Ireland — two  flint  and  one  bottle." 

The  manufacture  of  pottery  had  never  been  successfully 
established  in  Ireland,  but  any  remnants  that  remained  in 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  soon  disappeared, 
owing  to  the  impossibility  of  carrying  on  the  manufacture  at 
a  distance  from  the  coalfields.  In  Wakefield's  time  nothing 
but  coarse  earthenware  and  tiles  were  made  in  a  few  places. 

The  leather  industry  should  have  prospered  more  than  it 
did  in  view  of  the  large  quantities  of  cattle  slain  for  the 
provision  trade.  "  In  Ireland,"  we  read  in  Wakefield,  "  not- 
withstanding the  number  of  cattle  slaughtered  every  year, 
it  does  not  appear  that  tanning  is  carried  to  such  an  extent 
as  might  be  expected."  This  was  attributable  in  part  to 
the  difficulty  of  procuring  bark  owing  to  the  destruction  of 
the  Irish  woods ;  "  but  the  chief  obstacle  to  the  good  pre- 
paration of  leather  in  Ireland  is  the  levying  of  the  duty  on 
the  pit  in  place  of  on  the  skin  as  in  England  ;  this  makes  it 
the  interest  of  the  tanner  to  run  as  many  hides  through  the 
same  liquor  as  possible,  whereby  the  skins  are  imperfectly 
prepared,  the  process  being  but  half  performed."  The  Guide 
to  the  Cork  Exhibition  of  1852  recites  that  the  leather  industry 
had  been  on  the  decline  for  many  years :  "An  idea  of  the 
falling  off  may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that  in  Cork  alone 
there  were  at  one  time  forty  tanneries  at  full  work  ;  while 
there  are  not  now  more  than  sixteen.  The  orders  given  by 
the  leather  sellers  of  the  country  towns  to  the  manufacturers 
of  Dublin,  Cork,  Limerick,  Waterford,  and  Clonmel  bear  but 
a  miserable  proportion  to  those  which  they  were  in  the  habit 
of  giving  in  former  times — indeed  they  are  scarcely  one-fourth 
of  what  they  were."  This  decline  was  attributable  to  the 
importation  of  large  quantities  of  cheap  English  leather,  and 
to  the  growing  export  of  live  cattle. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  85 

It  would  be  impossible  in  the  space  at  our  disposal  to 
enumerate  all  the  minor  industries  that  experienced  a  decline 
in  the  fifty  years  following  the  Union.  Such  an  enumeration  is 
to  be  found  in  one  of  the  appendices  to  the  Report  of  the  Poor 
Law  Commissioners  in  1836,  which  contains  much  informa- 
tion on  the  subject.  The  majority  of  the  manufacturers  who 
gave  evidence  before  the  Commission  attributed  the  falling 
off  in  their  business  to  the  withdrawal  of  the  protecting  duties. 
A  carpet  maker  stated  that  he  was  the  only  one  of  his  trade 
left  in  Dublin  ;  that  the  English  manufacturers,  by  reason 
of  the  long  credits  they  could  obtain,  were  able  to  undersell 
the  Irish  even  in  the  Irish  market ;  and  that  the  removal 
of  the  protecting  duties  had  been  followed  by  a  great  fall 
in  wages.  The  bookbinders  gave  evidence  to  the  effect  that 
their  trade  had  been  very  flourishing  after  the  Union,  but  that 
at  a  later  date  the  public  departments  had  begun  to  give 
their  contracts  to  English  firms.  After  the  withdrawal  of 
the  duties,  books  were  imported  from  England  already  bound, 
and  much  unemployment  resulted  in  Ireland,  in  spite  of 
voluntary  reductions  of  wages.  The  glovers  stated  that : 
"  The  withdrawal  of  the  protecting  duties  gave  a  severe 
blow  to  this  trade.  The  English  poured  in  their  goods  and 
undersold  us."  The  hatters  gave  similar  evidence  :  "  When 
the  protecting  duties  were  withdrawn  the  trade  here  received 
a  fatal  blow,  for  we  were  immediately  inundated  with  an 
importation  of  English  hats."  A  prominent  iron  founder 
said  :  "  Owing  to  the  protecting  duties  having  been  with- 
drawn, and  the  credit  given  by  English  manufacturers,  our 
trade  has  been  gradually  sinking.  In  1825  our  markets  were 
constantly  overstocked  with  every  article  from  England." 
A  striking  instance  was  that  of  the  cutlers  :  "  The  withdrawal 
of  the  protecting  duties  seriously  affected  the  trade,  not  in 
the  quantity  of  work,  but  in  the  prices  of  our  goods,  and  the 
men's  wages  were  reduced  from  fifty  shillings  to  twelve 
shillings  a  week.  The  men  behaved  very  well,  and  took 
the  reduced  wages,  as  they  had  no  alternative  but  to  starve. 
There  was  a  glut  of  goods  from  Sheffield  which  caused  many 
of  the  workers  to  emigrate." 

Another  group  of  manufacturers,  principally  those  en- 
gaged in  the  making  of  articles  of  luxury,  gave  evidence 
that  they  had  been  injuriously  affected  by  the  greatly 
increased  absenteeism  caused  by  the  Union.  Amongst  these 


36  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

were  the  basket  makers,  the  braziers,  and  the  coach- 
builders. 

The  net  result  of  the  first  fifty  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century  was  that  Ireland  had  abandoned  all  pretence  of  being 
an  industrial  country,  and  relied  for  its  support  on  agriculture 
to  an  almost  greater  degree  than  it  had  done  at  any  previous 
period,  even  than  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  extent  of  the  industrial  decay  which  followed  the  Union 
can  only  be  fully  appreciated  when  it  is  compared  with  the 
progress  which  Great  Britain  made  at  the  same  time,  or  that 
which  Ireland  had  made  under  Grattan's  Parliament.  Next 
after  the  decline  of  industry  in  the  country  as  a  whole, 
perhaps  the  most  striking  features  of  the  period  is  the  definite 
tendency  shown  by  the  manufactures  which  survived  to 
become  localized  in  the  north-east  corner  of  Ulster. 

We  have  already  in  our  survey  of  the  different  manufac- 
tures seen  the  causes  which  tended  to  produce  industrial 
decline,  and  it  is  only  necessary  here  to  summarize  them 
and  to  endeavour  to  assign  to  them  their  true  relative  impor- 
tance. It  must  be  obvious  to  everybody  that  the  principal 
factor  which  operated  to  assist  or  to  impede  the  development 
of  manufactures  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century 
was  the  manipulation  of  protective  duties  and  bounties.  For 
a  period  of  150  years  England  had  consistently  and  logically 
protected  her  own  industries  so  long  as  they  needed  help 
of  this  kind,  and  it  was  only  when  they  had  been  placed 
on  such  a  footing  of  strength  as  to  be  practically  incapable 
of  suffering  from  outside  competition  that  the  policy  of 
artificial  stimulation  was  relaxed.  During  the  period,  how- 
ever, in  which  English  industries  were  thus  built  up,  Irish 
industries  had  been  depressed  and  discouraged  by  the  com- 
mercial restraints.  After  1780  Ireland  for  the  first  time  for 
nearly  a  century  had  an  opportunity  of  reviving  her  decayed 
manufacturing  life,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  ample  use  was 
made  of  this  opportunity  by  Grattan's  Parliament.  The 
means  adopted  were  those  which  had  proved  so  successful 
in  Great  Britain  in  the  past,  and  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that,  had  Ireland  had  sufficient  time  fully  to  develop 
her  commercial  policy,  she  would  have  benefited  from  it 
equally.  That  time,  however,  she  was  not  destined  to  have. 
When  it  is  remembered  that  in  1780  Irish  industries  had 
sunk  to  their  lowest  ebb,  and  that  Grattan's  Parliament  had 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  37 

to  base  its  policy  of  reconstruction  on  practically  no  existing 
foundations,  it  will  be  immediately  realized  that  it  was 
impossible  to  do  very  much  in  so  short  a  period  as  twenty 
years.  Obviously  Ireland  in  1800  must  have  been  indus- 
trially in  a  much  weaker  position  than  Great  Britain  at  the 
same  date ;  the  former  had  enjoyed  twenty  years  of 
Colbertism,  and  was  just  at  the  point  where  all  the 
encouragement  of  those  years  would  go  for  naught  unless 
more  encouragement  were  to  follow  ;  the  latter  had  reached 
the  stage  where  the  full  fruits  of  the  Colbertian  policy  of 
the  past  could  only  be  fully  realized  by  a  change  to  another 
system. 

The  equality  therefore  of  duties  on  the  trade  between 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  was  but  nominal,  and  represented 
no  real  equality.  So  long  as  there  was  any  reason  to  suppose 
that  an  equalization  of  duties  would  be  productive  of  such 
equality  of  competition,  British  trading  interests  had 
vigorously  and  successfully  resisted  any  advance  in  that 
direction  ;  but  all  doubt  on  this  matter  had  disappeared 
before  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  and  the  Act  of 
Union  did  not  arouse  any  alarm  amongst  British  manu- 
facturers. The  old  fears  of  Irish  competition  in  the  British 
market  had  given  place  to  the  hope  of  British  supremacy 
in  the  Irish  market. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  Irish  import  duties  were  removed, 
partly  at  the  Union  and  partly  twenty  years  later.  In  the 
interval  a  duty  of  ten  per  cent  on  practically  all  goods  (except 
cotton)  was  retained.  It  is  unnecessary  to  discuss  whether 
more  injury  was  done  to  the  Irish  manufactures  by  the 
first  or  the  second  change  of  the  tariff ;  but  it  is  possible 
that  too  much  importance  has  been  sometimes  attached 
to  the  effects  of  the  latter.  It  is  probable  that  the  real 
injury  was  done  at  the  Union,  as  the  advantage  which  the 
British  manufacturer  possessed  by  reason  of  the  introduction 
of  improved  methods  and  the  division  of  labour  almost 
certainly  outweighed  that  which  the  Irish  manufacturer 
possessed  by  reason  of  the  duty.  The  English  market  was 
certainly  equally  closed  to  Irish  produce  before  and  after 
the  abolition  of  the  ten  per  cent  duty.  The  matter  may 
perhaps  be  correctly  summarized  by  saying  that  the  reduction 
of  the  duties  inaugurated  a  period  of  arrested  development, 
and  that  their  abolition  inaugurated  a  period  of  decline. 


38  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

This  view  of  the  important  effects  produced  on  Irish 
industry  by  the  changes  in  the  tariff  is  that  of  the  most 
competent  modern  students  of  the  subject.  Dubois,  in  his 
Contemporary  Ireland,  says :  "  England,  which  under  the 
protection  of  her  customs  barriers  had,  during  a  century,  been 
winning  her  way  to  industrial  superiority,  was  now  under  a 
commercial  freedom  to  witness  the  full  expansion  of  her 
prosperity.  But  for  Ireland  free  trade,  on  the  contrary, 
merely  accentuated  the  progress  of  decay.  She  was  not  in  a 
position  to  struggle  against  foreign  competition.  During 
the  nineteenth  century  Ireland  suffered  as  much  from  free 
trade  and  from  the  doctrines  of  the  Manchester  school  as  she 
had  suffered  throughout  the  eighteenth  century  from  mercan- 
tilism and  commercial  restraints."  Miss  Murray  expresses 
the  same  opinion  in  The  Commercial  Relations  between  England 
and  Ireland :  "  The  industrial  history  of  Ireland  during  the 
nineteenth  century  shows  how  impossible  it  was  for  Irish 
manufacturers  to  compete  with  British,  once  the  two  countries 
were  commercially  united,  and  all  customs'  duties  on  articles 
going  from  one  country  to  the  other  gradually  abolished. 
It  also  shows  the  advisability  of  a  country  possessed  of  little 
industrial  development  fostering  and  protecting  its  infant 
manufactures  until  they  are  firmly  established,  in  order  to 
prevent  them  being  crushed  out  of  existence  by  the  com- 
petition of  other  countries.  But  union  with  Great  Britain 
necessitated  the  application  of  the  new  free  trade  principles 
to  Ireland  just  at  the  time  when  Irish  industries  should  have 
met  with  encouragement  and  protection."  "  While  industrial 
protection  was  in  vogue  in  England,"  says  Dr.  Cunningham, 
"  little  stimulus  was  given  to  real  improvement  of  any  kind 
in  Ireland,  but  her  whole  system  suffered  a  severe  blow  when 
protection  was  withdrawn.  .  .  .  The  regime  of  ill-assorted 
companionship  has  been  almost  as  baneful  as  the  period  of 
jealous  repression  and  Protestant  ascendancy." 

The  end  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth centuries  comprised  what  is  known  as  the  period  of  the 
Industrial  Revolution.  Improved  methods  of  manufacture 
were  introduced  ;  the  principle  of  the  division  of  labour  was 
carried  into  practice  to  a  degree  never  before  known  ;  and 
new  forms  of  power  were  applied.  It  may  be  taken  as  cer- 
tain that  a  country  in  which  these  changes  took  place  at  an 
early  date  would  be  in  a  position  to  undersell  any  other 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  39 

country  in  which  their  introduction  was  delayed,  unless  the 
latter  were  favoured  with  some  advantage  of  situation,  or  pro- 
tected by  import  duties  and  bounties.  Ireland  enjoyed 
neither  of  these  advantages.  She  was  but  a  few  miles  from 
Great  Britain,  and  her  markets  were  fully  exposed  to  British 
competition.  It  was  all  important,  therefore,  that  she  should 
not  lag  behind  Great  Britain  in  adopting  the  improved 
methods  of  production  which  were  effecting  such  a  revolution 
in  British  production. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  improvements  were  not  introduced 
in  Ireland  until  long  after  they  had  become  well  established 
in  Great  Britain,  and  this  delay  was  the  fundamental  cause 
of  Ireland's  inability  to  compete  with  the  latter  in  a  free 
market.  We  shall  discuss  the  causes  of  this  late  introduction 
of  improved  processes  in  Ireland  directly  ;  let  us  first  prove 
the  fact. 

In  1812  Wakefield  stated  that  "  Little  progress  can  be 
made  in  Ireland  in  manufactures  without  a  proper  division 
of  labour,  which  is  still  a  great  deficiency  in  that  country. 
In  every  large  undertaking  recourse  is  always  had  to  some 
director  or  overseer,  who  is  able  to  distribute  the  different 
parts  of  the  work  to  those  best  qualified  for  the  execution  of 
them,  and  to  assign  to  each  labourer  his  fit  proportion  by 
which  means  the  whole  is  completed  in  a  shorter  time  and  in 
a  much  better  manner.  But  in  Ireland  the  minute  divisions 
of  land,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  inhabitants  are  scattered 
over  the  country,  render  it  necessary  for  labour  of  various 
kinds  to  be  performed  by  the  same  individual.  In  arts  carried 
on  in  this  manner  improvement  is  impossible.  Except  in  the 
cotton  branches,  and  in  the  curing  of  provisions,  this  perni- 
cious system  is  everywhere  observed."  The  same  writer 
elsewhere  informs  us  that  "  the  spinning  of  linen  yarn  by 
machinery  was  not  practiced  in  Ireland  till  within  the  last 
few  years." 

The  Select  Committee  on  the  Irish  Linen  Trade  in  1825 
found  that  the  division  of  labour  had  been  carried  to  a  very 
much  greater  degree  in  England  than  in  Ireland  ;  and  the 
Poor  Law  Commission  of  1833-6  heard  much  evidence  to  the 
same  effect.  The  report  of  the  latter  commission  states  that, 
"  if  trade  is  encouraged,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  may  expect 
that  division  of  labour  which  exists  in  England."  A  hosiery 
manufacturer  stated  before  the  commission  that  the  business 


40  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

in  Ireland  was  done  entirely  by  the  chamber  masters,  and  not 
in  factories,  as  in  England  ;  an  iron  founder,  that  the  English 
were  enabled  to  undersell  him  because  they  had  adopted 
the  division  of  labour ;  and  a  paper  manufacturer,  that  there 
was  in  Ireland  no  machinery  equal  to  that  employed  in  Great 
Britain. 

Otway's  Report  on  the  hand-loom  weavers  discloses  a 
similar  state  of  affairs  four  years  later.  He  states  that  the 
"  system  of  spinning  flax  by  machinery  was  not  introduced 
into  Ireland  until  a  considerable  period  after  its  introduction 
into  England  and  Scotland  "  ;  and  that  there  were  no  power- 
looms  employed  on  woollen  weaving  even  as  late  as  1840. 
It  would  be  tedious  to  produce  any  more  evidence  of  a  fact 
so  well  established  as  that  the  industrial  revolution  came 
later  in  Ireland  than  in  England. 

It  may  possibly  be  said  that,  if  Irish  manufacturers  did  not 
avail  themselves  of  the  improved  methods  of  production 
which  were  being  introduced  elsewhere,  they  only  had  them- 
selves to  blame  for  their  country's  industrial  decline.  This 
suggestion  might  have  some  weight  if  Ireland  had  been  a 
country  normally  circumstanced  economically,  but,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  was  not  so  in  any  respect.  The  introduction 
of  the  improvements  which  came  in  at  the  time  of  the  indus- 
trial revolution  was  impossible  without  capital,  and  it  was 
lack  of  capital  that  prevented  Irish  manufacturers  from  adopt- 
ing them. 

The  acquisition  of  capital  by  the  Irish  manufacturers  at 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  almost  impossible 
for  two  reasons.  One  was  the  land  system,  which  prevented 
the  accumulation  of  any  substantial  capital  in  Ireland  ;  the 
other  was  the  unsatisfactory  banking  system,  which  impeded 
the  circulation  of  whatever  capital  was  accumulated  in  spite 
of  the  land  laws.  The  essential  evil  of  the  land  system  was 
that  no  part  of  the  surplus  produce  of  the  land  was  enjoyed 
by  the  occupying  tenant.  The  combined  result  of  the  evils 
of  middlemen,  short  leases,  the  absence  of  tenant  right,  and 
the  pressure  of  a  large  population  upon  the  soil,  was  that  the 
actual  cultivators  did  not  obtain  more  than  a  mere  subsist- 
ence as  a  result  of  their  labour.  The  whole  surplus  was 
drained  off  as  rent.  This  evil  was  aggravated  a  hundredfold 
by  the  prevalence  of  absenteeism,  by  reason  of  which  the 
surplus  product  of  the  land  was  not  only  lost  to  the  occupying 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  41 

tenant,  but  to  the  country  as  a  whole.  Under  such  a  system 
as  this  the  accumulation  of  capital  in  Ireland  was  an  im- 
possibility. "  At  the  present  day,"  wrote  Mr.  Otway  in  1840, 
"  the  principal  impediments  to  the  growth  of  manufacturing 
industry  arise  from  the  want  of  a  comfortable  middle  class, 
and  the  condition  of  the  agricultural  population.  From  the 
nature  of  his  tenure,  and  the  want  of  an  improved  system 
of  cultivation,  the  occupying  tenant  in  most  places  receives 
a  very  disproportionate  share  either  of  the  profits  of  his 
industry  or  the  produce  which  the  soil  is  capable  of  producing. 
There  is,  and  until  the  relations  between  landlord  and  tenant 
are  altered  there  can  be,  no  accumulation  of  savings  in  the 
south  of  Ireland  from  agricultural  industry,  and  hence  there 
can  be  no  spontaneous  growth  of  manufactures  from  small 
capitals."  This  opinion  of  the  effect  of  the  land  system  on 
industry  was  shared  by  Sir  Robert  Kane :  "In  the  south 
the  wretched  remnants  of  feudal  barbarism  paralysed  all 
tendency  to  improve.  The  lord  was  above  industry  ;  the 
slave  below  it ;  and  hence,  although  the  circumstances  of  a 
fertile  soil,  easy  access  to  markets,  and  abundance  of  motor 
power,  were  in  themselves  favourable,  the  blessings  which 
nature  presented  were  left  unutilized." 

Absenteeism  had  always  been  a  curse  in  Ireland  since  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  it  greatly  increased 
after  the  Union,  and  the  economic  drain  which  it  caused 
became  more  serious  than  ever.  The  resources  of  Ireland 
were  weakened  and  wasted  in  another  important  respect 
after  the  Union,  namely,  by  the  increased  taxation,  which 
resulted  in  the  transmission  to  England  of  huge  sums  yearly 
for  which  no  equivalent  was  received. 

The  land  system,  therefore,  and  the  overtaxation  pre- 
vented the  accumulation  of  any  considerable  capital  in  Ireland. 
Even  such  small  capital  as  was  accumulated  was,  however, 
not  capable  of  being  employed  so  as  to  produce  its  maximum 
benefit,  on  account  of  the  defective  banking  facilities  that 
the  country  afforded.  Witness  after  witness  before  the  Poor 
Law  Commission  of  1833-6  stated  that  they  were  undersold 
in  the  Irish  market  by  English  manufacturers  on  account  of 
the  long  credit  that  the  latter  could  obtain.  "  If  the  Scotch 
system  of  banking,"  wrote  John  Francis  Maguire  in  1852, 
"  which  has  tended  so  much  to  the  development  of  the 
resources  of  that  by  no  means  naturally  favoured  country,  had 


42  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

been  extended  to  Ireland  some  years  since,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  she  would  now  be  in  a  different  position  from  what 
she  is  ;  and  that  the  chimneys  of  busy  factories  would  meet 
the  eye  in  many  directions  where  there  is  felt  but  the  silence 
of  utter  desolation.  The  difference  between  the  two  systems, 
the  Scotch  and  the  Irish,  may  be  described,  the  one  as  liberal, 
the  other  as  discouraging.  Under  the  one  the  enterprising 
manufacturer  of  good  character  is  allowed  credit  in  propor- 
tion to  the  extent  of  his  business,  his  capital  and  his  require- 
ments ;  while  under  the  other,  he  is  not  allowed  to  overdraw 
his  account,  even  to  the  smallest  amount.  The  enterprising 
manufacturer  is  fostered  and  encouraged  in  Scotland,  as  the 
best  possible  supporter  of  the  banks ;  but,  from  whatever 
reason,  it  is  otherwise  in  Ireland." 

To  the  general  spectacle  of  industrial  decay  which  Ireland 
presented  in  1850  there  was  one  fortunate  exception,  namely, 
the  north-east  corner  of  Ulster.  The  progress  of  this  one 
locality  at  a  time  when  every  other  part  of  the  country  was 
declining  is  a  remarkable  phenomenon  which  calls  for  some 
explanation.  In  the  eighteenth  century  Ulster  stood  in  by  no 
means  the  same  position  of  industrial  pre-eminence  compared 
with  the  rest  of  Ireland  which  it  occupies  to-day.  The  linen 
industry,  it  is  true,  was  more  in  evidence  in  the  northern  pro- 
vince than  elsewhere,  but  it  was  by  no  means  non-existent  in 
the  south  and  west ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  newly 
established  cotton  industry,  Ulster  did  not  possess  under 
Grattan's  Parliament  any  undue  share  of  the  manufacturing 
wealth  of  the  country.  But  in  1850  a  great  change  had  taken 
place  ;  the  linen  industry  was  practically  extinct  in  the  three 
southern  provinces,  while  it  continued  to  flourish  in 
Ulster  ;  and  by  far  the  largest  part  of  the  cotton  manufacture 
was  carried  on  in  the  same  district. 

Ulster,  indeed,  owes  a  far  larger  share  of  her  industrial 
development  to  the  cotton  than  to  the  linen  manufacture. 
The  cotton  industry  was  the  one  industry  that  made  substan- 
tial advances  during  the  years  following  the  Union,  princi- 
pally because  it  alone  continued  to  be  encouraged  by  protective 
duties.  It  was  at  the  same  time  the  only  industry  in  Ireland, 
except  the  provision  trade  in  Cork,  in  which  the  improved 
processes  were  introduced  at  an  early  date.  It  was  the 
localization  of  this  industry  in  Belfast,  where  it  had  been 
established  in  1778,  that  conferred  on  Ulster  the  position 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  43 

of  industrial  importance  which  that  province  was  destined 
to  maintain  for  the  remainder  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Wakefield  perceived  this  clearly  in  1810  :  "  The  superior 
and  more  opulent  condition  of  a  great  many  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Ulster  has  been  ascribed  to  the  linen  manufacture  ;  but 
this  opinion  is  entirely  void  of  foundation.  In  what  district 
do  the  people  appear  to  be  most  comfortable  in  their  circum- 
stances ?  Forming  a  circle  at  a  distance  of  twenty  miles 
from  Belfast,  it  will  be  seen  that  commerce  and  the  cotton 
manufacture  have  diffused  prosperity  to  that  favoured  spot." 

The  cotton  industry,  with  its  up-to-date  methods  of  produc- 
tion, and  its  application  of  the  division  of  Labour,  was  a  most 
valuable  object  lesson  to  those  engaged  in  the  linen  manu- 
facture in  the  same  neighbourhood.  It  was  also  accompanied 
by  the  advantage  that  it  afforded  an  alternative  or  additional 
source  of  employment  to  the  families  of  the  linen  manu- 
facturers. It  must  be  remembered  that  each  industry 
established  in  a  locality  helps  all  the  others,  just  as  the 
decay  of  one  injures  all  the  others.  Industrial  progress  and 
retrogression  are  cumulative  in  their  effects.  In  this  connec- 
tion the  proximity  of  Belfast  to  the  industrial  districts  of 
Scotland  must  not  be  overlooked. 

Ultimately,  however,  the  linen  industry  supplanted  the 
cotton  in  Ulster  and  regained  its  former  pre-eminence. 
Although  improved  processes  were  not  introduced  into  the 
linen  manufacture  at  as  early  a  date  as  in  England,  they  were 
nevertheless  adopted  earlier  than  in  other  parts  of  Ireland. 
This  applied  particularly  to  the  spinning  branch  of  the 
manufacture.  About  1830  hand-spun  yarn  definitely  gave 
place  to  that  spun  by  power,  and  one  reason  that  the  linen 
industry  in  the  south  and  west  declined  so  rapidly  was  that 
it  was  found  impossible  by  the  weavers  to  obtain  cheap 
supplies  of  power-spun  yarn.  In  Ulster,  however,  spinning 
by  power  was  introduced,  thus  ensuring  a  regular  supply  of 
yarn  for  the  weavers. 

The  improved  methods  appeared  much  later  in  the  weaving 
branch  of  the  manufacture  than  in  the  spinning,  and  hand- 
loom  weaving,  especially  of  the  finer  fabrics  which  were 
chiefly  manufactured  in  Ulster,  was  retained  until  the  middle 
of  the  century.  The  principal  improvements  that  were 
introduced  into  this  branch  of  the  industry  were  the  cessation 
of  the  custom  by  which  weavers  supplemented  their  earnings 


44  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

by  farming  small  portions  of  land,  and  the  congregation  of 
the  weavers  into  factories.  The  former  was  generally 
admitted  to  be  accompanied  by  great  advantages  both  to 
weaving  and  to  agriculture,  as  it  converted  the  former  man 
of  all  trades  into  a  skilled  full-time  workman  ;  and  the 
institution  of  the  factory  system  also  made  for  increased 
output  and  greater  efficiency.  In  1840,  out  of  nine  hundred 
weavers  employed  in  Belfast,  seven  hundred  were  employed 
in  factories ;  and  it  was  said  that  the  introduction  of  this 
improvement  was  encouraged  by  the  widespread  embezzle- 
ment of  yarn  which  took  place  when  the  work  was  performed 
in  the  weavers'  own  homes.  Mr.  Muggeride  stated  in  the 
report  on  the  Hand-Loom  Weavers  that  "  the  extent  of 
embezzlement,  and  the  traffic  in  stolen  materials  existing 
in  Belfast,  was  stated  to  be  much  greater  than  in  any  other 
town  visited  either  in  England  or  Ireland." 

Apart  from  these  two  changes,  the  process  of  weaving 
did  not  undergo  any  very  great  change  in  the  early  part  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  it  is  doubtful  if,  had  it  done  so, 
the  Ulster  linen  industry  would  have  survived.  Such  was 
the  opinion  expressed  by  Mr.  Pim  in  his  book  on  the 
Condition  of  Ireland,  written  in  1848  :  "  The  manufacture 
of  flax  has  more  slowly  adapted  itself  to  the  factory  system 
than  either  that  of  cotton  or  wool.  Linen  is  still  woven  by 
hand,  and  flax  continues  to  be  spun  by  hand  till  recently  ; 
the  machinery  for  spinning  flax  by  power  not  having  been 
invented  until  long  after  that  for  spinning  cotton  had  been 
brought  to  nearly  its  present  state  of  perfection.  The  factory 
system  had,  therefore,  time  to  develop  itself  in  England,  as 
applied  to  the  manufacture  of  cotton,  woollens,  and  worsted 
goods,  before  the  linen  trade  was  exposed  to  its  influence. 
When  the  contest  between  the  spinning  wheel  and  the  flax 
mill  commenced  the  linen  trade  of  Ulster  might  have 
experienced  the  same  fate  as  the  cotton  and  woollen  trades 
of  the  south  of  Ireland,  but  that  it  was  still  necessary  to 
weave  by  hand." 

The  reason  that  Ulster  was  enabled  to  progress  during  the 
period  in  which  the  remainder  of  Ireland  declined  was  that 
the  improved  process  of  manufacture  was  adopted  in  the 
northern  province.  Was  this  in  any  way  due  to  a  superior 
industrial  character  in  Ulster  ?  We  have  seen  that  the 
failure  of  the  southern  manufacturers  to  introduce  improve- 
ments was  due  to  their  inability  to  amass  capital  owing  to 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  45 

the  land  system  ;  and  it  is  equally  the  fact  that  the  reason 
Ulster  was  enabled  to  progress  was  because  capital  could  be 
accumulated  owing  to  an  essential  difference  in  the  land 
system  in  the  north.  The  Ulster  custom,  which  was  observed 
throughout  the  northern  counties,  did  away  with  the  worst 
evils  which  characterized  the  land  system  in  the  south,  by 
encouraging  tenants  to  improve  by  ensuring  that  they 
would  enjoy  such  capital  as  they  succeeded  in  accumulating. 
Absenteeism,  moreover,  was  not  so  common  among  the 
northern  landlords.  The  existence  of  the  Ulster  custom  was 
undoubtedly  the  reason  why  the  industries  of  Ulster  weathered 
the  storm,  which  swept  away  those  of  the  south  and  west. 
"  It  may  be  asked,"  says  Mr.  Otway,  "  why  the  manufactures 
of  the  north  did  not  share  the  fate  of  those  of  the  south  ; 
but  the  question  is  easily  solved  by  a  glance  at  the  state  of 
the  population  in  the  province  of  Ulster.  .  .  .  The  landlords 
and  tenants  in  the  manufacturing  districts  belonged  to  one 
class  ;  they  did  not  regard  each  other  as  hereditary  enemies  ; 
.  .  .  there  was  no  legacy  of  oppression  on  one  side  or  of 
revenge  on  the  other.  The  Ulster  tenant  felt  and  feels  he 
has  a  property  in  his  favour,  something  on  the  earth  he  could 
call  his  own  ;  that  the  fruits  of  his  industry  would  be  allowed 
to  accumulate  into  a  small  capital ;  and,  in  point  of  fact,  such 
an  accumulation  did  take  place,  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
capital  in  the  linen  manufactures  of  Ulster  was  derived  from 
the  savings  of  agricultural  industry,  and  hence  arose  the 
numerous  class  who  were  at  the  same  time  a  farmer,  a  weaver, 
and  a  linen  dealer."  The  progress  of  the  north  was  there- 
fore as  intimately  connected  with  the  land  system  as  was  the 
decline  of  the  south,  and  was  equally  unconnected  with  the 
character  of  the  manufacturers.  Indeed,  the  only  way  in 
which  the  special  character  of  the  Ulster  people  influenced 
the  industrial  development  of  the  province  was  by  hastening 
on  the  introduction  of  the  factory  system  on  account  of  their 
dishonesty  in  dealing  with  the  yarn  in  their  own  homes. 

The  remarkable  growth  of  Belfast,  as  apart  from  other 
parts  of  Ulster,  is  generally  attributed  to  the  financial  diffi- 
culties of  the  Chichester  family  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  So  great  was  their  need  of  money  that  they  granted 
away  their  Belfast  estates  in  perpetuity  in  consideration  of 
heavy  fines,  and  thus  the  lands  got  into  the  hands  of  the 


46  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

commercial  class,  and  away  from  the  baneful  influence  of 
landlordism.  "  To  these  perpetuity  leases,"  says  Mr.  Godkin 
in  The  Land  War  in  Ireland,  "  we  must  undoubtedly  ascribe 
the  existence  of  a  middle  class,  and  the  accumulation  of 
capital  for  manufacture  and  commerce." 

The  suggestion  has  been  frequently  made  that  industry 
was  ruined  in  Ireland  in  the  early  nineteenth  century  by 
reason  of  the  action  of  the  workmen  in  demanding  unreason- 
able wages,  and  enforcing  their  demand  by  combinations 
and  strikes.  This  raises  a  very  important  question,  which, 
unfortunately,  it  is  impossible  to  discuss  at  proper  length 
in  the  space  at  our  disposal.  It  would  be  idle  to  deny  that 
strikes  were  very  frequent  in  Ireland  in  the  early  nineteenth 
century,  as  their  frequency  and  bitterness  appears  on  every 
page  of  the  industrial  history  of  the  time.  It  may  also  be 
admitted  that  these  strikes  were  productive  of  much  injury 
to  the  manufactures  in  which  they  occurred.  This  fact  is 
proved  absolutely  beyond  yea  or  nay  by  the  evidence  before 
the  Poor  Law  Commission  of  1833-6,  the  Select  Committee 
on  Combinations  of  Workmen,  1838,  the  Commission  on  the 
Hand-Loom  Weavers,  and  many  other  contemporary  in- 
quiries. The  most  famous  instance  of  an  Irish  industry 
being  absolutely  ruined  by  strikes  is  that  of  the  Dublin 
shipbuilding,  but  many  other  smaller  industries  indubitably 
suffered  in  the  same  way. 

Merely  to  state  that  strikes  occurred  and  inflicted 
damage  on  certain  manufactures  is  not  in  any  sense  a  condem- 
nation of  the  workmen  who  took  part  in  them.  On  the 
contrary,  they  were  often  most  necessary,  and,  even  when 
most  disastrous,  were  often  unavoidable,  if  the  ordinary 
rights  of  the  workmen  were  not  to  be  completely  overridden. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  anti-combination  laws  in 
Ireland  were  even  more  severe  than  those  in  Great  Britain, 
and  that,  except  in  certain  highly  skilled  trades,  the  Irish 
labourer  was  paid  a  much  lower  wage  than  a  corresponding 
worker  in  England.  "  The  rate  of  wages,"  says  Otway, 
"  for  all  classes  of  operatives,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
trades,  which  are  limited  by  the  expense  or  the  difficulty  of 
learning  them,  or  which  require  a  continuous  industry  and 
attention  rarely  to  be  met  with,  are  much  lower  than  in  any 
other  part  of  the  United  Kingdom." 

Strangely  enough,  while  in  general  wages  were  lower  in 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  47 

Ireland  than  in  England,  they  were  considerably  higher  in 
the  more  skilled  branches.  This  was  constantly  stated  to  be 
owing  to  the  unreasonable  combinations  in  the  latter,  but 
Sir  Robert  Kane  was  strongly  of  opinion  that  this  was  not 
so :  "A  bricklayer  in  London  gets  22s.  per  week,  and  his 
labourer  145. ;  a  bricklayer  in  Dublin  gets  255.  a  week,  and 
his  labourer  95.  These  proportions  are  often  said  to  be 
caused  by  combinations  and  threats  against  employers. 
It  is  not  so  ;  the  fact  being  that  men  who  know  how  to  set 
bricks  are  proportionately  more  abundant  in  London,  and 
men  who  do  not  know  how  to  do  it  are  more  abundant  with 
us.  This  directly  produces  both  the  power  of  combining 
and  the  difference  of  wages."  In  view  of  these  differences  it 
was  impossible  to  say  whether  the  cost  of  labour  in  any  one 
process  was  higher  in  England  or  Ireland,  as  this  depended 
on  the  proportion  between  the  number  of  skilled  and  unskilled 
workers  employed. 

The  strikes  which  took  place  seem  to  have  been  more 
often  defensive  than  offensive,  and  so  far  as  this  was  so,  the 
blame  for  them  must  be  laid  on  the  masters  and  not  on  the 
men.  The  evidence  given  before  the  Poor  Law  Commission 
of  1833-6  shows  that  this  was  admitted  by  many  of  the 
masters  themselves.  For  instance  a  pin  manufacturer  stated 
that :  "  The  masters  here  are  not  sufficiently  attentive  to  their 
workmen  ;  they  do  not  show  them  so  much  kindness  as  in 
England  "  ;  a  coachbuilder  :  "  One  great  cause  of  combina- 
tions is  the  want  of  conciliatory  manners  of  the  masters 
towards  the  men.  Many  of  them  will  seize  every  opportunity 
which  may  offer  of  taking  advantage  and  grinding  the  men 
down  to  the  lowest  rate  of  wages  "  ;  an  ironmaster  :  "If 
the  masters  were  not  so  anxious  for  their  own  benefit,  and 
showed  a  little  more  feeling  towards  the  men,  there  would 
seldom  be  any  disturbance "  ;  another  ironmaster :  "If 
the  men  were  better  treated  they  would  always  come  to  upon 
reasonable  terms  "  ;  and  a  third  ironmaster  :  "  I  consider 
that  combinations  are  more  owing  to  the  behaviour  of  the 
masters  than  of  the  men,  who  are  much  oppressed  by  many 
of  them  and  get  nothing  like  sufficient  wages."  An  impartial 
witness  gave  evidence  before  the  Select  Committee  of  1824, 
that  in  the  Dublin  shipbuilding  industry  the  masters  relied 
altogether  on  the  combination  laws,  and  would  not  "  bend 
at  all  to  the  men."  These  extracts,  which  are  taken 


48  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

at  random  from  the  huge  mass  of  evidence  on  the  subject 
which  was  received  by  the  commissioners,  show  conclusively 
that  the  blame  for  the  strikes  must  not  be  put  altogether  on 
the  men.  Mr.  Hall,  a  solicitor  and  independent  witness, 
stated  before  the  Committee  of  1824  that  he  could  "  more 
easily  reason  with  the  men  than  with  the  masters  ;  they  are 
generally  more  intelligent  and  reasonable,  and  seldom  refuse 
to  come  to  a  reasonable  adjustment."  The  fact  is  that  the 
strikes  were,  as  we  have  said  above  in  dealing  with  the  woollen 
industry,  less  often  actuated  by  the  desire  to  better  the 
workers'  condition  than  by  the  fear  of  their  position  being 
lowered  by  reason  of  the  decay  of  industry  which  was  taking 
place.  The  decline  of  an  industry  caused  combinations  and 
strikes,  which  themselves  operated  only  to  hasten  the  decline 
— a  vicious  circle. 

The  most  unpleasant  feature  of  the  strikes  was  that  they 
were  frequently  directed  from  England,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  resist  the  conclusion  that  the  Irish  workman  was  on  some 
occasions  used  as  a  tool  by  English  interests  to  injure  Irish 
industries.  A  hatter  stated  to  the  Poor  Law  Commissioners 
that  his  operatives  were  promised  financial  support  from 
London  to  the  extent  of  £3,000  in  the  event  of  a  strike ;  a 
tailor,  that  his  men  took  their  strike  orders  from  London  ; 
and  a  cabinet-maker  that  "  in  trade  disputes  delegates  came 
over  from  trade  unions  in  Liverpool  and  Glasgow,  and  so 
wrought  on  the  tradesmen  of  Dublin  as  to  excite  in  them  some 
very  high  ideas  of  the  utility  of  some  plans  they  had  in  agita- 
tion, and  their  determination  to  carry  them  into  effect." 
Daniel  O'Connell  stated  in  Parliament  that  many  Irish  trade 
disputes  were  fomented  in  Manchester ;  and  there  was  a 
famous  instance  in  which  a  body  of  English  glass  manufac- 
turers paid  the  glass  workers  in  Cork  strike  pay  for  two  years. 
These  instances  of  English  interference  in  Irish  industrial 
affairs  contain  a  serious  lesson  for  us  at  the  present  day,  as 
they  show  that  the  English  allies  of  Irish  workmen  are  not 
always  purely  disinterested  in  their  activity  in  promoting 
trade  disputes  in  Ireland. 

On  the  whole,  however,  we  may  say  that  the  prevalence  of 
strikes  in  Ireland  was  not  so  much  a  cause  as  a  consequence 
of  the  industrial  decay  of  the  country.  The  whole  subject 
is  admirably  summed  up  in  the  following  passage  from  Sir 
Robert  Kane's  Industrial  Resources  of  Ireland :  "  No  person 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  49 

really  conversant  with  the  progress  of  industry  in  the  two 
countries  would  assent  that  there  is  more  combination  here 
than  in  Great  Britain.  The  history  of  industry  in  England 
for  the  last  century  presents  a  series  of  the  most  violent 
attacks,  riots,  and  combinations,  murders  of  the  most  amiable 
employers,  destruction  of  machinery  and  mills  ;  in  fact,  such 
an  array  of  illegal  interference  with  the  first  rights  of  property 
and  labour  as  would,  if  judiciously  worked  up  by  an  active 
editor,  supply  materials  for  a  history  of  Great  Britain  that  has 
not  yet  been  written.  But  these  events  are  lost  sight  of  by 
the  public  in  the  vast  extent  of  British  industry.  The  ring- 
leaders are  punished  ;  the  general  mass  return  to  work.  .  .  . 

"  In  this  country,  however,  cases  of  combinations  derive 
an  extrinsic  importance  from  causes  quite  independent  of 
their  true  nature.  Our  industry  is  so  limited  in  amount 
that  a  disagreement,  which  in  England  would  never  be  heard 
of  except  by  those  immediately  concerned,  becomes  matter 
of  universal  comment,  and  unfortunately  the  organs  of  public 
opinion  are  too  often  hurried  by  the  eagerness  of  political 
feeling  into  speaking  of  a  quarrel  between  a  master  and  a 
few  men  as  if  it  were  a  general  outbreak  of  the  working 
against  the  employing  class. 

"  Thus  a  dispute  recently  took  place  in  Cork,  so  unimportant 
that  in  a  week  it  was  forgotten  in  Cork.  But  it  was  not  forgotten 
elsewhere.  The  journals  took  it  up,  and  concealing  that  the 
whole  affair  was  a  dispute  about  wages,  they  seized  on  the 
question  of  English  and  Irish,  and  poured  out  on  the  poor 
Cork  workmen  and  their  unhappy  country  column  after 
column  of  vulgar  abuse  and  contumely.  It  was  inferred  that 
Ireland  was  in  a  state  of  barbarism  ;  that  if  mills  were  erected 
they  would  be  burnt ;  if  masters  gave  employment  their 
throats  would  be  cut ;  that  the  means  of  earning  wholesome 
food  and  healthful  habitations,  of  dressing  comfortably,  of 
educating  their  children  to  useful  trades,  were  looked  upon  in 
Ireland  as  objects  sedulously  to  be  avoided  ;  and  that  the 
native  Irish  had  an  indomitable  and  natural  taste  for  rags 
and  dirt,  for  sloth  and  hunger,  for  violence  and  murder." 

Another  factor  which  has  frequently  been  suggested  as  an 
important  cause  of  the  decline  of  Irish  industries  is  the  distance 
of  Ireland  from  the  nearest  coal  supply.  Sir  Robert  Kane, 
however,  pointed  out  that  the  importance  of  this  was  greatly 
exaggerated ;  that  the  percentage  of  the  cost  of  production 


50  MODERN   IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

incurred  for  coal  was  too  small  materially  to  alter  the  selling 
price  of  any  commodity  manufactured  in  Ireland  ;  and  that 
the  necessity  of  importing  coal  was  of  less  detriment  to  the 
industries  concerned  than  the  necessity  of  importing  various 
raw  materials,  such  as  flax,  cotton,  wool,  and  salt. 

The  industrial  decay  of  Ireland  was  caused,  therefore,  by 
no  failing  of  character  either  on  the  part  of  the  employer  or 
of  the  workmen,  but  was  the  result  of  the  fiscal  changes 
which  were  introduced  at  the  Union,  and  completed  twenty 
years  later.  The  abolition  of  the  duties  was  vital,  owing  to 
the  inability  of  the  Irish  manufacturers  to  compete  with 
their  English  rivals ;  and  this  inability  was  itself  the  result 
of  the  impossibility  of  capital  being  accumulated  in  Ireland 
under  the  land  system  as  it  then  was.  Ultimately,  of  course, 
the  cause  of  the  decay  was  political,  inasmuch  as  the  applica- 
tion of  the  unsuitable  tariffs  was  only  rendered  possible  by 
the  fact  that  the  Irish  Parliament  had  ceased  to  exist.  The 
progress  of  Ulster,  on  the  other  hand,  was  the  result  of  the 
differences  in  the  land  system  which  prevailed  in  that  province, 
and  was  in  no  way  due  to  the  Act  of  Union.  In  other  words, 
the  Union  was  responsible  for  the  industrial  decline  of  the 
south,  but  was  in  no  way  responsible  for  the  industrial  advance 
of  the  north.  Indeed,  it  is  very  probable  that  north-east 
Ulster  would  have  been  even  more  prosperous  to-day  had 
the  Union  never  been  passed. 

The  effect  of  the  industrial  decline  which  we  have  outlined 
was  to  cause  great  unemployment,  and  to  throw  the  whole 
population  on  the  soil  for  support.  As  we  have  seen,  however, 
the  soil,  however  naturally  rich  and  abundant,  was  by  the 
operation  of  the  land  laws  unable  to  afford  to  those  who 
cultivated  it  more  than  a  bare  subsistence.  Here  we  have  a 
vicious  circle.  The  land  system  was  largely  responsible  for 
the  industrial  decay,  which  itself  operated  to  aggravate  the 
evils  of  the  land  system.  The  situation  created  by  the  action 
and  interaction  of  these  two  causes  grew  annually  more 
unbearable  until  a  crisis  was  reached  hi  the  dreadful  years  of 
the  famine.  The  drastic  solution  which  this  terrible  event 
provided  for  Irish  economic  problems  was  ably  helped  on  by 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  who,  by  repealing  the  corn  laws,  finally 
deprived  Ireland  of  the  last  means  left  to  her  by  which  she 
could  hope  to  maintain  her  large  population.  "  The  Irish 
farmer  and  stock-raiser,"  says  Dr.  Cunningham,  "  had  had  an 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  51 

advantage  since  the  Union  over  the  agriculturists  of  other 
regions  in  supplying  the  English  market ;  but  under  the 
system  of  free  trade  this  advantage  was  lost.  The  complete 
abandonment  of  the  corn  laws  proved  a  very  serious  blow  to 
the  more  energetic  elements  of  the  population." 

Such  was  the  effect  of  the  ruin  of  Irish  industries  on  Ireland. 
It  also  had  effects  on  Great  Britain,  but  of  a  very  different 
kind.  Many  of  the  operatives  thrown  out  of  employment 
in  Ireland  migrated  to  Great  Britain  in  search  of  work,  and 
their  presence  proved  an  important  benefit  to  England  at  a 
period  when  she  was  in  urgent  need  of  cheap  labour.  "  When 
the  rapid  and  vast  increase  of  the  large  towns  is  considered," 
wrote  Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis  in  his  Report  on  the  Irish 
Poor  in  Great  Britain,  in  1836,  "  it  may  be  difficult  to  estimate 
the  precise  amount  of  advantage  derived  from  the  command 
of  labour  which  the  unemployed  population  of  Ireland  afforded 
to  them,  or  how  many  opportunities  of  successful  development 
might  have  been  lost  without  this  facility  of  obtaining  at  any 
moment  a  large  supply  of  new  hands."  Thus  once  again 
Ireland's  poverty  was  England's  wealth. 

There  is  no  need  to  point  any  conclusions  from  the  contents 
of  the  foregoing  pages.  It  is  abundantly  clear  that,  from  the 
industrial  and  commercial  points  of  view,  the  first  fifty  years 
of  the  Union  system  of  government  was,  to  put  it  mildly, 
not  a  success.  The  country,  which  at  the  date  of  the  Act  of 
Union  was  remarkable  for  its  industrial  progress  and  com- 
mercial expansion,  was  in  a  condition  of  industrial  ruin  and 
commercial  paralysis  at  the  golden  jubilee  of  that  auspicious 
event. 


NOTE    ON    HISTORICAL 
INTRODUCTION 

IN  the  foregoing  pages  Dr.  O'Brien  has  surveyed  the 
main  currents  which  acted  and  re-acted  upon  the 
industrial  economy  of  Ireland  from  the  seventeenth  up 
to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  the  following 
pages  the  present  writer  attempts  to  trace  the  later  history 
of  the  subject — from  about  the  year  1850  to  our  own  day, 
Were  this  work  confined  to  the  latter  period  alone,  the 
reader  would  find  it  impossible,  without  reference  to  other 
works,  to  arrive  at  reliable  conclusions  as  to  the  causes 
responsible  for  the  present-day  dearth  of  Irish  trade  and 
industry.  But,  by  studying  the  subject  over  an  extended 
period,  such  as  is  covered  by  this  work  as  a  whole,  these 
causes  are  made  manifest.  During  the  greater  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century  no  systematic  records  were  kept  of 
Irish  trade  and  industry.  Consequently,  to  provide  full 
historical  data  relating  to  this  period  is  an  impossibility. 
In  some  cases  it  has  been  found  possible  to  collect,  from 
various  sources,  a  fair  amount  of  data,  but  in  other  cases 
very  little  reliable  information  is  available  upon  which  to 
found  a  definite  historical  narrative. 

E.  J.  R. 


53 


MODERN    IRISH    TRADE 
AND    INDUSTRY 


CHAPTER     I 

AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,  AND  FOOD 
PRODUCTS 

I.      CROPS   AND   LIVE   STOCK 

DURING  the  great  famine  there  was  established  an 
excellent  system  of  Irish  Agricultural  Statistics, 
and  since  then  a  continuous  record  is  available  of 
the  agricultural  conditions  in  Ireland  in  each  year.  The 
outstanding  feature  in  Irish  agriculture  since  the  forties  of 
the  last  century  has  been  the  decline  in  tillage.  Perhaps 
the  quickest  method  of  getting  a  clear  idea  of  the  decrease 
is  to  consider  the  shrinkage  in  the  area  under  Corn  Crops, 
Green  Crops,  and  Flax,  i.e.,  the  area  ploughed  each  year.  The 
following  diagram  shows  at  a  glance  that  this  area  decreased 
practically  continuously  from  1849  to  1916  ;  the  substantial 
recovery  in  1917  and  1918  was  due  to  the  necessities  of  the 
war.  Much  of  this  improvement  was,  however,  lost  in  1919. 
The  area  of  ploughed  land  decreased  from  4,402,377  acres  in 
1849  t°  2.384,761  acres  in  1916  ;  it  increased  to  3,220,992 
acres  in  1918,  but  fell  to  2,786,546  acres  in  1919. 

29.8  per  cent  of  the  arable  land  (i.e.,  land  under  crops  and 
grass,  excluding  rough  mountain  grazing)  was  ploughed 
in  1849.  This  percentage  fell  to  16.2  in  1915.  In  that  year 
Ireland  had  a  much  lower  percentage  of  arable  land  ploughed 

57 


58  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


than  any  country  in  Europe.     In  an  address  delivered  at 
Dundalk  on  September  13,  1915,  Sir  T.  W.  Russell,  Vice- 


Acres  1848 
OOO'S 
omitted 
5000 


4000 


3000 


2000 


1000 


1868 


1888 


1908 


1918    Acres 
OOO'S 
omitted 
5000 


PLOUGHED  LAND 

IN 
IRELAND 


2000 


1000 


1848 


1868 


1888 


1908     1918 


President  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical 
Instruction,  stated  : — 

In  comparison  with  Ireland's  16  per  cent  of  ploughed  land, 
Germany  has  65  per  cent  to  her  credit,  Hungary  59  per  cent,  and 
Austria  52  per  cent.  Our  Allies  are  also  far  ahead  of  us  in  this 
respect.  European  Russia  ploughs  78  per  cent  of  her  arable 
land,  Serbia  63  per  cent,  Belgium  59  per  cent,  Italy  58  per  cent, 
and  France  55  per  cent.  Of  the  neutral  countries  Roumania 
ploughs  79  per  cent,  Bulgaria  71  per  cent,  Luxemburg  64  per  cent, 
Portugal  55  per  cent,  and  Denmark  54  per  cent.  This  latter  figure 
for  Denmark  may  seem  much  too  low  to  those  of  you  who  have 
visited  or  studied  that  country,  but  we  must  bear  in  mind  it  is 


59 

only  the  land  ploughed  each  year  that  I  am  taking  into  account. 
If  I  included  the  seed  hay  with  the  ploughed  land  the  percentage 
for  Denmark  would  be  no  less  than  91  per  cent. 

As  the  percentage  ploughed  in  Ireland  in  1849  was  only 
29.8  per  cent  it  is  seen  that  even  at  that  period  Irish  agri- 
culturists applied  much  less  labour  to  the  land  than  was  the 
rule  on  the  Continent  before  the  outbreak  of  war. 

A  rough  measure  of  the  loss  of  food  production  involved 
in  the  low  percentage  ploughed  in  Ireland  is  given  in  the 
following  statement,  which  appeared  in  an  advertisement 
issued  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical 
Instruction  in  February,  1917  : — 

An  acre  of  merely  average  land  will  produce  in  Oats  i  ton, 
in  Potatoes  8  tons.  An  acre  of  the  primest  fattening  land  will 
not  produce  in  Beef  (live  weight,  counting  hides,  bones  and  all) 
more  than  5  cwt. 

An  acre  of  Oats  will  feed  for  a  week  100  people.  An  acre  of 
Potatoes  220  people.  An  acre  of  Beef  8  people. 

To  grow  Oats  takes  5  months.  To  grow  Potatoes  4  to 
6  months.  To  grow  Beef  takes  2  years. 

The  decline  in  tillage  and  the  comparatively  small  food 
production  on  the  grass  lands,  are  fairly  well  realized  by  the 
Irish  public.  There  is  also  a  general  idea  that  our  country 
is  more  fertile  than  most  lands.  The  Statistical  Year  Book  of 
the  International  Institute  of  Agriculture  shows  that  Ireland 
has  an  extraordinarily  high  rate  of  produce  per  acre  as 
compared  with  other  countries.  The  following  is  a  comparison 
of  the  average  yields  per  statute  acre  in  Italy,  France,  and 
Ireland,  for  the  five  years  1912-16  inclusive  : — 


ITALY. 

Cwts. 

FRANCE. 

Cwts. 

IRELAND. 

Cwts. 

Wheat 

8.1 

IO.6 

19.9 

Oats 

7-4 

10.3 

17.6 

Barley 

6.7 

II.  O 

I9.O 

Rye 

8.6 

8.3 

14.8 

Potatoes 

43-5 

69.1 

1077 

60  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

An  acre  of  ploughed  land  produced  nearly  twice  as  much  in 
Ireland  as  in  France,  and  more  than  twice  as  much  as  in  Italy. 
The  following  additional  facts  extracted  from  the  same 
publication  show  the  extraordinarily  favourable  position 
of  Ireland  as  regards  average  yields  of  crops  per  acre  in  the 
five  years,  1912-16  : — 


Rye.  Out  of  23  countries  listed, 

Oats.  Out  of  31  countries  listed, 

Barley.  Out  of  34  countries  listed, 

Wheat.  Out  of  38  countries  listed, 

Flax.  Out  of  15  countries  listed, 

Potatoes.  Out  of  24  countries  listed, 


Ireland  came  second. 
Ireland  came  second. 
Ireland  came  third. 
Ireland  came  third. 
Ireland  came  sixth. 
Ireland  came  seventh 


As  a  result  of  Land  Purchase  Acts,  which  have  enabled 
Irish  farmers  to  become  the  owners  of  the  land  they  work, 
and  in  consequence  of  the  propagation,  by  the  Department 
of  Agriculture,  of  knowledge  as  regards  the  scientific  treatment 
of  crops  and  live  stock,  as  well  as  the  operation  of  other 
factors,  there  has  been  a  steady  improvement  in  Irish  agri- 
culture during  the  last  twenty  years.  In  that  period  there  has 
been  an  all-round  increase  of  about  25  per  cent  in  the  rate  of 
yield  per  acre  of  the  tillage  crops.  The  following  table  shows 
the  increases  in  the  averages  for  two  periods  of  five  years  : — 


AVERAGE  RATE  OF  YIELD 

CROPS. 

PER  STATUTE  ACRE. 

1895-99. 

1913-17- 

Actual. 

Per  cent. 

Cwt. 

Cwt. 

Cwt. 

Wheat 

17.0 

20.  i 

18.2 

Oats 
Barley 

15.0 
17-4 

17.7 
19.1 

2.7 

18.0 

9.8 

Tons 

Tons 

Tons 

Potatoes 
Turnips 
Mangels 

3-9 

14.9 

15-7 

5-7 
17-3 
20.3 

1.8 
2.4 
4.6 

46.2 

16.1 
29-3 

Stones 

Stones 

Stones 

Flax 

26.6 

27.6 

I.O 

3-8 

AGRICULTURE,   FISHERIES,   FOOD          61 

It  is  presumably  in  this  direction  that  the  most  rapid  and 
permanent  progress  can  be  made  in  the  near  future.  It  is  a 
matter  of  more  and  better  agricultural  education. 

A  few  figures  with  regard  to  the  principal  crops  may  be 
of  interest : 

WHEAT : — The  area  under  Wheat  in  1847  was  743,871  acres 
— the  largest  extent  recorded.  This  decreased  to  504,248 
acres  in  1851,  to  401,243  acres  in  1861,  to  244,451  acres  in  1871, 
to  153,794  acres  in  1881,  to  80,870  acres  in  1891,  and  continued 
small  to  1914,  when  the  area  was  36,913  acres.  It  had  in- 
creased to  157,326  acres  in  1918,  but  fell  to  69,663  acres 
in  1919. 

In  the  Report  on  the  Trade  in  Imports  and  Exports  at  Irish 
Ports,  in  the  year  1915  (Cd.  8498,  1917),  it  is  stated  that  the 
quantity  of  wheat  and  wheat  flour  consumed  in  Ireland  in 
that  year  would  represent  the  normal  produce  of  730,000 
acres  of  wheat  in  Ireland. 

OATS: — In  1852  the  area  under  Oats  in  Ireland  was 
2,283,449  acres  ;  this  was  the  largest  extent  recorded  for  that 
crop.  There  was  a  gradual  decrease  in  the  area  sown  which 
reached  its  lowest  point  in  1914,  when  it  stood  at  1,028,758 
acres.  It  had  increased  to  1,579,537  acres  in  1918,  but 
decreased  to  1,442,458  acres  in  1919. 

Most  of  the  oats  produced  in  Ireland  is  consumed  by  the 
horses  and  the  food  animals  on  Irish  farms.  Of  the  955,000 
tons  produced  in  1912,  607,400  tons  were  thus  consumed  on 
the  farms  ;  90,850  tons  were  used  for  seeding  the  1913  crop. 
This  left  256,750  tons  over  for  feeding  horses  in  Irish  towns, 
for  the  manufacture  of  oatmeal  in  Ireland,  and  for  export. 
Oats  and  Potatoes  are  the  only  two  Irish  crops  which  are 
exported  in  large  quantities.  The  exports  of  Oats,  which 
amounted  to  44,695  tons  in  1904  (the  first  year  for  which 
figures  are  available),  increased  to  79,764  tons  in  1907,  and 
remained  at  about  this  level  to  1914.  During  and  after  the 
war  larger  shipments  were  made  ;  the  largest  export  recorded 
was  162,055  tons  in  1919. 

BARLEY  AND  BERE  :— In  1849  the  area  ™der  Barley 
and  Bere  was  351,509  acres.  This  was  the  largest  area  ever 
placed  under  these  crops.  It  gradually  decreased  to  152,520 
acres  in  1866.  After  that  year  the  area  increased  to  254,845 
acres  in  1879.  A  decrease  then  set  in  and  the  extent  was 


62  MODERN   IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

reduced  to  167,407  acres  in  1884.  From  that  date  on  to 
1914  the  area  remained  fairly  constant ;  in  1915  it  fell  to 
141,586  acres ;  in  1918  it  had  risen  to  184,712  acres  ;  and 
in  1919  to  186,625  acres.  Barley  was  the  best  paying  of  the 
1919  crops,  and  Irish  farmers  showed  their  good  judgment 
in  selecting  it  as  the  only  crop  to  show  an  increased  area  that 
year. 

Most  of  the  Irish  barley  crop  is  sold  for  malting.  Thus 
out  of  the  155,546  tons  produced  in  1912  there  were  130,650 
tons  sold  off  the  farms.  Of  the  remainder  12,600  tons  were 
used  for  seeding  the  1913  crop. 

POTATOES :— In  1849  the  area  under  Potatoes  was 
718,608  acres.  The  extent  gradually  increased  to  a  maximum 
in  1859  when  it  reached  1,200,247  acres.  There  was  then  a 
gradual  and  almost  continuous  decline  down  to  the  year 
1909,  when  the  area  reached  the  minimum  579,799  acres. 
The  area  in  1916  was  586,308  acres ;  in  1917,  709,263  acres  ; 
in  1918,  701,847  acres.  The  area  fell  to  588,802  acres  in 
1919. 

Large  quantities  of  potatoes  are  exported  from  Ireland 
each  year,  but  still  the  shipments  amount  to  only  a  compara- 
tively small  fraction  of  the  large  total  produced  in  Ireland. 
Potatoes  are  grown  specially  for  export  in  only  seven  counties 
(Antrim,  Armagh,  Donegal,  Down,  Londonderry,  Tyrone, 
and  Louth),  all  of  which  are  in  the  north.  The  total  export, 
which  amounted  to  108,578  tons  in  1904,  had  increased  to 
187,922  tons  in  1914  ;  during  and  after  the  war  much  larger 
quantities  were  shipped,  amounting  to  343,099  tons  in  1918 
and  to  301,271  tons  in  1919. 

TURNIPS : — The  largest  area  ever  recorded  for  Turnips 
was  399,377  acres  for  the  year  1852.  The  decline  in  the 
area  under  this  crop  was  very  much  less  than  in  any  of  the 
four  already  mentioned.  The  change  was  gradual,  and  the 
minimum  262,814  acres  was  reached  in  1916.  The  area 
increased  to  294,795  acres  in  1918,  but  fell  to  273,460  acres 
in  1919. 

MANGELS  : — This  is  the  only  crop  the  area  of  which  has 
shown  a  steady  tendency  to  increase.  The  area  in  1849 
was  18,758  acres.  The  area  was  much  the  same  in  1867,  but 
had  increased  to  48,948  acres  in  1872.  In  1897  it  was  54,649 
acres  ;  in  1907  it  had  increased  to  72,134  acres.  It  reached 


AGRICULTURE,   FISHERIES,   FOOD          63 

its  maximum  of  97,663  acres  in  1918  but  decreased  to  74,839 
acres  in  1919. 

FLAX  : — The  area  under  Flax  in  Ireland  shows  more 
variations  than  the  area  under  any  other  crop.  The  extent 
in  1849  was  6o.3r4  acres.  It  increased  to  174,579  acres  in 
1853,  but  fell  to  97,075  acres  in  1855.  The  area  increased 
fairly  steadily  to  301,693  acres  in  1864.  This  was  the  largest 
extent  ever  recorded.  It  had  fallen  to  101,174  acres  in  1875, 
after  which  it  was  enlarged  to  157,540  acres  in  1880.  It 
decreased  to  89,225  acres  in  1884,  to  increase  again  to 
130,284  acres  in  1887.  It  then  fell  to  67,487  acres  in  1893, 
but  stood  at  101,081  acres  in  1894.  It  had  gone  down  to 
34,469  acres  in  1898.  In  1915  the  area  was  53,143  acres.  It 
rose  to  91,454  acres  in  1916,  to  101,705  acres  in  1917,  and  to 
143,355  acres  in  1918,  but  fell  to  95,610  acres  in  1919. 

In  the  five  years  previous  to  the  war  Ireland  on  an  average 
produced  10,581  tons  of  flax,  imported  38,057  tons,  and 
exported  3,259  tons.  Accordingly,  the  annual  average 
consumption  of  flax  was  45,379  tons.  In  the  same  five  years 
the  average  yield  per  statute  acre  in  Ireland  was  thirty-two 
stones.  Taking  this  as  the  normal  yield,  Ireland  should  have 
had  about  227,000  acres  under  flax  in  order  to  produce 
sufficient  for  her  pre-war  requirements. 

TIMBER  : — The  area  under  Woods  and  Plantations  hi 
1853  was  305,221  acres,  in  1880  it  had  risen  to  339,858  acres, 
which  was  the  largest  extent  recorded  for  any  year.  After 
this  there  was  a  gradual  decrease  to  289,944  acres  in  1918. 


The  food  animals  and  the  horses  on  Irish  farms  consume 
most  of  the  crops  produced  in  Ireland  and  comparatively 
small  quantities  are  sold  for  consumption  off  the  farms.  On 
the  other  hand  only  a  comparatively  small  part  of  the  output 
of  Irish  live  stock  and  live  stock  products  is  consumed  on 
Irish  farms.  79.2  per  cent  of  the  Irish  farmers'  income  is 
directly  derived  from  live  stock  and  live  stock  products,  and 
only  20. 8  per  cent  directly  from  crops.  The  tables  on  pp.  64-65 
show  the  estimated  quantities  and  values  of  Irish  crops,  live 


64  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

stock  and  live  stock  products  sold  or  consumed  by  the  farmers 
and  their  families  in  Ireland  in  the  year  ended  May  31,  1913 — 
the  latest  year  for  which  the  figures .  are  available  : — 


CROPS. 

Quantity. 

Value. 

f, 

Wheat 

Tons 

39.500 

306,000 

Oats.  . 

,, 

257,000 

1,715,000 

Barley 

,, 

130,650 

1,126,000 

Beans 

,, 

380 

3,000 

Peas 

M 

85 

600 

Potatoes 

,i 

1,495,000 

6,102,000 

Carrots 

,, 

12,000 

18,000 

Parsnips 

,, 

7,000 

22,000 

Other  Green 

Crops 

,, 

— 

66,000 

Flax.. 

,, 

12,956 

855,000 

Tow  (undressed) 

„ 

12,956 

39,000 

Hay 

,, 

217,500 

743,000 

Straw 

,, 

15,000 

27,000 

Grass  Seed  .  . 

,, 

39.300 

385,000 

Fruit 

,, 

— 

320,000 

Timber 

•• 

245,000 

123,000 

The  Irish  agricultural  returns  for  1917  were  grouped 
according  to  size,  and  the  returns  for  holdings  of  each  size 
were  sub-grouped  in  accordance  with  the  percentage  of 
arable  land  ploughed.  The  summaries  for  these  sub-groups 
showed  that — 

(1)  For  a  group  of  holdings  of  a  particular  size,  the  higher 
the  percentage  of  tillage  the  more  numerous  were  the  milch 
cows  and  young  cattle,  of  sheep,  of  pigs,  of  poultry,  but  the 
smaller  the  number  of  beef  cattle  per  100  acres  of  arable  land. 

(2)  For  a  group  of  holdings  each  with  the  same  percentage 
of  arable  land  tilled,  the  smaller  the  holding  the  more  numerous 
were  the  milch  cows  and  young  cattle,  of  pigs,  and  of  poultry, 


AGRICULTURE,   FISHERIES,   FOOD          65 

but  the  less  numerous  were  the  beef  cattle  and  sheep  per 
100  acres  of  arable  land. 


LIVE  STOCK  AND  LIVE  STOCK  PRODUCTS. 

Quantity. 

Value. 

£ 

Cattle 

No. 

1,096,000 

13,854,000 

Butter 

Tons. 

88,200 

9,201,000 

Whole  Milk.. 

Gals. 

92,000,000 

2,492,000 

Butter  and  \ 

Separated  \ 

» 

22,000,000 

687,000 

Milk 

"  Fallen  "     ] 

Cattle 

No. 

129,000 

97,000 

Hides 

Pigs 

»» 

1,656,000 

7,790,000 

Poultry 

» 

12,955,000 

i,575>000 

Eggs 

Tons 

82,673 

4,312,000 

Feathers 

» 

i,333 

67,000 

Sheep 

No. 

1,378,000 

2,875,000 

Wool 

Tons 

6,933 

696,000 

Horses 

No. 

32,000 

1,508,000 

"  Fallen 

Horse 

»» 

10,000 

7,000 

Hides 

Mules,           | 

Jennets     j- 

»> 

4,000 

13,000 

&  Asses     j 

Goats 

— 

— 

32,000 

Honey 

Tons 

207 

11,000 

Total  Live  Stock  and  Live  Stock  Products    £45,217,000 
Total  Crops 11,850,600 

Total  income         . .         . .     £57,067,600 

With  the  decline  in  tillage  in  Ireland  it  would  accordingly 
be  expected  that,  if  no  other  influences  were  at  work,  the 

5 


66  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 


number  of  food  animals  would  also  have  declined.  There 
appears  to  be  a  general  impression  that  the  decreased  tillage 
was  counterbalanced  by  an  increase  in  the  number  of  live 
stock.  While  the  changes  will  be  shown  in.  more  detail 
later  on,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  state  here  that  sheep  have 
greatly  declined  during  the  last  thirty  years,  that  pigs  have 
shown  a  distinct  tendency  to  decrease  during  the  last  twenty- 
five  years,  and  that  a  curious  change  has  taken  place  in  the 
cattle  herds — the  number  of  milch  cows  and  the  number  of 
cattle  bred  have  decreased,  although  the  total  number  of 
cattle  kept  has  increased. 

The  following  diagram  shows  that  the  number  of  cattle  in 
Ireland  increased  almost  continuously  from  1849  *°  *ne 
present  date: — 


1848 


1868 


1888 


1908    1918 


OOOS 
omitted 
5000 


4000 


3000 


2000 


1000 


CATTLE 

IN 
IRELAND 


ooo's 

omitted 

5000 


4000 


3000 


2000 


1000 


1848  1868  1888  1908    1918 


AGRICULTURE,   FISHERIES,   FOOD          67 

The  foregoing  diagram  conceals  the  fact  that  the  number  of 
milch  cows  in  Ireland,  the  number  of  calves  born  each  year, 
the  production  of  milk  and  of  butter,  have  decreased.  The 
following  table  shows  the  curious  change  which  has  taken 
place  in  our  cattle  herds  since  1854,  the  first  year  in  which 
the  milch  cows  were  separately  enumerated  : — 


Average 
for  five 
years. 

Milch 
Cows. 

OTHER    CATTLE. 

Total. 

Under 
i  year 

I   tO  2 

years. 

2  years 
and  over. 

1854-1858 
1915-1919 

1,579^51 
1,496,724 

645,152 
1,190,854 

597,814 
1,110,641 

764,866 
1,124,878 

3,587,683 
4,923,097 

This  table  shows  that  while  the  number  of  milch  cows 
(and  accordingly  the  number  of  calves  bred)  have  declined, 
the  number  of  calves  reared  have  almost  doubled. 

About  1,100,000  head  of  cattle  are  each  year  sold  off  Irish 
farms  to  be  butchered  in  Ireland  or  to  be  exported  alive  to 
Great  Britain.  The  normal  number  now  exported  each  year 
would  be  in  or  about  850,000,  the  average  number  butchered 
in  Ireland  about  250,000  or,  perhaps,  a  little  less.  Accord- 
ingly about  three-quarters  of  the  cattle  produced  in  Ireland 
are  marketed  alive  in  Great  Britain.  On  account  of  the 
large  numbers  of  store  cattle  and  breeding  cattle  exported 
alive  from  Ireland  it  was  estimated  that  before  the  war  three 
Out  of  every  five  beef  animals  sold  off  British  farms  were  of 
Irish  origin. 

Owing  to  the  influence  of  the  large  extent  under  grass  in 
Ireland  the  production  of  cattle  and  milk  in  Ireland  is  not 
carried  on  with  any  attempt  at  uniformity  through  the  year. 
The  following  were  the  percentages  of  calves  born  in  each 
month  of  the  year  June  i,  1917,  to  May  31,  1918  :  June,  1.4  ; 
July,  1.3 ;  August,  1.5 ;  September  1.4 ;  October,  1.5 ; 
November,  1.8  ;  December,  2.5  ;  January,  5.3  ;  February, 


68  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

10.0  ;  March,  25.1 ;  April,  29.0  ;  May,  19.2  ;  total,  100.0. 
73-3  P6*  cent,  of  the  calves  were  born  in  the  three  months 
March,  April,  and  May.  Although  this  inequality  has  not 
its  full  effect  on  the  exports  of  butter,  still  it  is  found  that, 
taking  for  instance  the  year  1915,  56.4  per  cent,  of  the  butter 
exported  was  shipped  in  the  four  months  June  to  September. 
Similarly,  the  grass  is  availed  of  for  beef  production ;  the 
numbers  of  fat  cattle  exported  being  at  a  maximum  in 
October  and  November  and  at  a  minimum  in  May  and 
June. 


1848 
000*5 
omitted 


5000- 


4000- 


3000- 


2000- 


1000- 


1868 


1888 


1908    1918 


000  S 
omitted 


5000 


4000 


3000 


2000 


1000 


69 

Unlike  the  cattle  curve  which  appears  on  p.  66,  and  which 
indicates  a  constant  upward  tendency,  the  corresponding 
sheep  curve  (see  p.  68)  shows  that  while  sheep  rapidly  in- 
creased up  to  1868,  when  they  numbered  4,901,496,  there  was 
a  steady  and  rapid  decrease  to  3,256,186  hi  1881.  This  was 
followed  by  a  still  more  rapid  increase  to  4,827,777  in  1892,  from 
which  year  there  has  been  a  general  downward  tendency. 

The  sheep  flocks  are,  of  course,  subject  to  more  violent 
changes  than  the  cattle  herds,  and  it  is  accordingly  more 
difficult  to  give  reliable  estimates  of  the  numbers  of  sheep 
produced  annually.  For  the  twelve  months  ended  May  31, 
1913,  the  output  of  sheep  was  estimated  at  1,378,000.  The 
average  annual  export  for  the  five  years  1909-13  was 
708,281,  so  that,  if  each  of  these  figures  can  be  taken  as 
normal,  it  would  appear  that  we  export  about  one-half  and 
consume  about  one-half  of  the  sheep  and  lambs  produced  in 
Ireland. 

The  Irish  wool  clip  for  the  year  ended  May  31,  1912,  was 
estimated  at  15,530,000  Ibs.  The  average  exports  in  the  five 
years  1909  to  1913  were  14,603,000  Ibs.  The  difference 
between  these  two  figures  shows  what  a  small  fraction  of  the 
Irish  wool  crop  is  spun  in  Ireland. 

The  pig  population  varies  very  rapidly  from  year  to  year. 
An  exceptionally  bad  potato  crop  is  followed  by  a  drastic 
reduction  in  the  number  of  pigs.  For  instance,  the  average 
yield  per  acre  of  potatoes  fell  from  6.2  tons  in  1915  to  4.2  tons 
in  1916,  and  as  a  result  the  pigs  decreased  from  1,290,289 
in  1916  to  947,472  in  1917.  A  reduced  pig  population  can, 
however,  be  rapidly  restored  as  there  are  two  crops  of  pigs 
each  year. 

The  following  diagram  shows  how  rapidly  the  number  of 
pigs  in  Ireland  vary  from  year  to  year  : — 


70  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 


1848 


1868 


OOO'S 
omitted 

2000 


1500 


1000 


500 


OOO'S 
omitted 

2000 


1500 


1000 


500 


1848 


1868 


1888 


1908     1918 


Although  there  are  violent  changes  from  year  to  year,  still 
it  can  be  seen  from  the  above  diagram  that  the  numbers  of 
pigs  tended  to  increase  up  to  the  early  nineties,  and  since  then 
have  tended  to  decrease. 

While  73.3  per  cent,  of  the  calves  are  born  in  March,  April, 
and  May,  and  94.8  per  cent,  of  the  lambs  in  February,  March, 
and  April,  the  births  of  bonhams  are  fairly  evenly  distributed 
throughout  the  year.  Still  pork  production  is  to  a  consider- 
able extent  seasonal  ;  the  pigs  are  fattened  off  after  the 
harvest,  the  numbers  finished  reaching  a  maximum  in 
November  or  December,  and  a  minimum  in  July  or  August. 

The  trend  of  the  Irish  export  trade  in  live  stock  is  shown  in 
the  following  statement : — 


AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,   FOOD         71 


Average  for 
three  years. 

EXPORTS    FROM    IRELAND. 

Cattle. 

Sheep. 

Pigs.     , 

1847-9 
1857-9 
1867-9 
1877-9 
1887-9 
1897-9 
1907-9 
1917-9 

195,938 

321,441 
466,952 

677,344 

692,604 
773,882 

847,023 

791,410 

273,641 
437,501 
795,386 
649,048 

599,946 
836,642 
750,986 
628,376 

95,082 
335,480 
285,121 

495,212 
499,814 
657,548 

398,837 
188,651 

The  decline  in  the  exports  of  live  pigs  since  the  nineties 
must  be  considered  in  connexion  with  the  progress  of  the 
Irish  bacon-curing  industry.  The  abnormally  low  average 
for  1917-19  was  due  to  the  falling  off  in  the  pig  population, 
which  resulted  from  the  failure  of  the  potato  crop  in  1916 
and  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  maize  since  that  year. 

According  to  the  Report  on  the  Agricultural  Statistics  of 
Ireland  for  the  year  1916,  the  following  were  the  numbers 
of  cattle,  sheep,  and  pigs  per  1,000  acres  of  land  in  different 
countries  : — 


Country. 

Year. 

Cattle. 

Sheep. 

Pigs. 

Ireland 

1916 

244 

185 

63 

England 

1916 

167 

434 

62 

Scotland 

1916 

66 

370 

8 

Wales 

1916 

171 

817 

40 

Belgium 

I9J3 

254 

194 

Denmark 

1916 

242 

27 

209 

Holland 

I9J3 

261 

105 

168 

France 

1916 

94* 

83* 

33* 

Germany 

1915 

152 

38 

129 

Austria 

1910 

124 

33 

87 

Hungary 

1913 

75 

81 

84 

Italy 

1914 

94 

195 

38 

Switzerland 

1916 

163 

17 

55 

*  Excluding  animals  on  territory  occupied  by  the  enemy.     It  will 
be  seen  from  the  above  table  that  even  in  regard  to  cattle  Ireland  had 


72  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

No  branch  of  the  Irish  live  stock  industry  has  advanced  so 
rapidly  in  recent  years  as  poultry-keeping.  Owing  to  the 
extraordinary  rise  in  the  price  of  eggs,  poultry  has  become 
a  serious  rival  to  other  classes  of  live  stock.  The  exports 
of  poultry  and  eggs  from  Ireland  in  1918  were  valued  at 
£18,352,578  ;  exports  of  cattle  at  £23,047,557  ;  pigs  and  pig 
products  at  £6,692,027 ;  sheep,  lambs,  and  wool  at 
£3,378,833 ;  butter  at  £5,436,739 ;  steam  vessels  at 
£10,147,000  ;  whiskey  at  £3,796,208  ;  porter  at  £2,431,676. 
This  gives  an  idea  of  the  importance  of  the  poultry  industry 
at  present  to  Ireland.  The  number  of  poultry  in  Ireland 
increased  fairly  regularly  from  6,328,001  in  1849  to  J8.976,798 
in  1906.  In  1907,  owing  to  a  new  classification  introduced 
into  the  returns,  a  more  complete  enumeration  was  made  of 
the  young  fowl,  and  the  total  jumped  to  24,326,995  for  that 
year.  The  number  rose  and  stood  at  26,472,753  in  1916. 
It  fell  to  22,245,024  in  1917  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  feeding 
stuffs,  but  increased  to  24,424,230  in  1918,  and  the  numbers 
have  undoubtedly  considerably  increased  since  then. 

Horse-breeding  is  a  very  important  feature  of  Irish  agri- 
culture, but  as  most  of  the  horses  bred  in  Ireland  are  "  con- 
sumed "  on  Irish  farms  in  the  production  of  other  forms  of 
agricultural  wealth,  these  animals  do  not  perhaps  figure  as 
prominently  as  they  deserve  in  statistical  statements.  Of 
the  624,501  horses  in  Ireland  in  1919,  464,280  were  broken, 
160,221  unbroken.  Of  the  464,280  broken  horses  407,748 
were  used  for  agricultural  purposes.  The  number  of  horses 
in  Ireland  varied  comparatively  little  since  1849.  In  that 
year  the  number  was  525,924,  it  increased  to  629,075  in  1859 
— the  largest  number  recorded  until  1895  when  the  maximum 
of  630,287  was  reached.  In  1914,  just. before  the  outbreak  of 
war,  the  number  was  619,345.  This  fell  to  560,917  in  1915, 
but  had  increased  to  624,501  in  1919. 

2.   THE    FISHING    INDUSTRY 

There  are  records  which  show  that  in  earlier  times  the  Irish 
fishing  industry  was  a  well-conducted,  vigorous  branch  of 

a  lower  density  than  well-tilled  Belgium  and  Holland,  that  she 
had  fewer  sheep  per  1,000  acres  than  either  Wales,  England,  Scotland 
or  Italy,  and  fewer  pigs  per  1,000  acres  than  Belgium,  Denmark,  Holland 
or  Germany. 


AGRICULTURE,   FISHERIES,   FOOD 


73 


the  country's  industrial  economy.  About  the  year  1829, 
however,  a  considerable  falling  off  occurred  in  its  output, 
and  a  period  of  depression  ensued,  which  continued  for  about 
thirty  years.  It  was  not  until  the  introduction  of  ice,  which 
provided  a  means  of  preserving  fish  in  first-class  condition 
for  a  comparatively  long  time  ;  railways,  which  provided 
a  rapid  means  of  conveying  this  commodity  to  distant 
markets;  and  steam  trawlers,  which  further  lessened  the 
time  occupied  in  putting  fish  upon  the  market,  that  this 
industry  regained  something  of  its  earlier  prosperity. 

Although  a  preponderance  of  sailing  vessels  continues, 
there  has  been  a  marked  increase  in  recent  years  in  the  number 
of  Irish-owned  steam  and  motor  vessels  attached  to  the  Irish 
fishing  fleet.  The  following  table  shows  the  number  of 
vessels  of  all  kinds  employed  and  the  number  of  persons 
engaged  in  the  Irish  Sea  Fisheries  in  the  years  1908  to  1917 — 
the  latest  date  for  which  figures  are  available: — 


NUMBER    OF   VESSELS. 

NUMBER    OF    PERSONS. 

Year 

ISt 

2nd 

^rd 

Un- 

Class 

Class 

o  *•* 
Class 

classed 

Total 

Men. 

Boys 

Total. 

1908 

412 

3,H2 

1,742 

814 

6,080 

22,412 

498 

22,910 

1909 

413 

3,io8 

1,642 

813 

5,976 

21,787 

445 

22,232 

1910 

39° 

2,956 

1,502 

804 

5,652 

20,339 

35i 

20,690 

1911 

420 

2,914 

i,337 

844 

5,515 

19,789 

309 

20,098 

1912 

405 

2,693 

1,185 

915 

5,198 

18,623 

352 

18,975 

1913 

401 

2,681 

1,071 

940 

5,093 

17.823 

251 

18,074 

1914 

361 

2,443 

947 

1,090 

4,841 

17,205 

252 

17,457 

1915 

381 

2,080 

630 

1,185 

4,276 

* 

* 

15,669 

1916 

343 

2,084 

599 

1,295 

4,321 

* 

* 

15,789 

1917 

344 

2,047 

493 

1,658 

4,542 

* 

* 

16,936 

The  figures  for  the  year  1915  disclose  the  fact  that  in  that 
year  there  were  eight  steam  vessels  of  over  100  tons  gross 
tonnage,  65  motor,  and  260  sailing  boats  engaged  in  trawling. 

*  Separate  figures  were  not  published  for  these  years. 


The  numbers  of  motor-boats  employed  in  the  years  1916  and 
1917  in  the  Irish  Sea  Fisheries  were : 

1916  1917 

Not  exceeding  5  tons     . .         . .         . .     105  119 

Over  5  and  not  exceeding  10  tons     . .       66  94 

Over  10  and  not  exceeding  25  tons  . .       95  109 

Over  25  tons      . .         . .         . .         . .       19  62 


TOTALS  . .        . .     285      384 


Similar  returns  have  not  been  published  since  the  year 
1917,  but  a  reliable  estimate  of  the  number  of  motor  fishing 
boats  owned  in  Ireland  in  the  year  1919  placed  the  figures 
at  about  five  hundred — large  and  small  together. 

Of  the  Irish  sea  fisheries  a  well-informed  writer  recently 
stated  i1 


A  small  fleet  of  steam  trawlers  from  Dublin  is  primarily 
occupied  in  supplying  the  Dublin  market,  and  the  prospect  of 
developing  this  method  of  fishing  from  Irish  ports  seems  to 
depend  upon  a  revolution  in  methods  of  transport.  Trawling 
by  smaller  craft  along  most  of  the  coast  yields  a  fair  margin  of 
profit,  and  a  system  of  seining  by  motor  boats,  which  the  Depart- 
ment (of  Agriculture  and  Technical  Instruction  for  Ireland) 
introduced  from  Denmark  some  years  ago,  is  decidedly  lucrative, 
though,  like  any  other  efficient  practice,  it  is  freely  condemned 
by  longshoremen.  Drift-net  fishing  for  mackerel  and  herrings, 
whether  judged  by  the  quantity  or  value  of  the  product,  forms 
the  back-bone  of  the  industry  in  Ireland  .  .  .  The  further 
development  of  sea  fisheries  postulates  improvement  of  harbour 
accommodation  on  which  the  Department  have  so  far  spent 
about  £167,000,  including  some  £91,400  from  their  own  slender 
resources.  Much  remains  to  be  done  in  this  line,  if  the  funds  can 
be  secured,  and  transit  adequately  correlated. 

The  following  statement  is  interesting  as  showing  the 
distribution  of  the  Irish  sea-fishing  industry.  The  year 
1914  is  the  latest  for  which  such  data  are  available  :— 

1  The  Times,  November  4,  1919,  p.  44. 


AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,  FOOD          75 


NUMBER  OF  FISHING  VESSELS  (REGISTERED,  UNREGISTERED,  AND 
UNCLASSED)  EMPLOYED  ON  THE  COASTS  OF  IRELAND,  ALSO  THE  NUMBER 
OF  MEN  AND  BOYS  ENGAGED  IN  THE  DEEP  SEA  AND  COAST  FISHERIES 
IN  THE  YEAR  1914. 


.Name  of 
District. 

Boundaries. 

Employed  in  1914. 
Vessels.  Men.  Boys 

i.  Dublin 

Howth  to  Greystones    .  . 

IOO 

459 

26 

(Kingstown) 

2.  Wicklow 

To    breaches    three    miles 

north    of    Five-mile-point 

Station     to     the     sluices 

three  miles  south  of  Cahore 

Station,  Co.  Wexford  .  . 

"3 

616 

22 

3.  Wexford 

Sluices   near   Cahore   Point 

to  Bannow  Bay,  Co.  Water- 

ford         

87 

267 

— 

4.  Tramore 

Bannow  to  Ballyvoile  Head 

138 

401 

2 

5.  Youghal 

Ballyvoile    to    Ballycotton, 

Co.  Cork 

— 

— 

— 

6.  Queens- 

Ballycotton  Bay  to  Ringa- 

town 

bella  Point  East 

51 

130 

15 

7.  Kinsale 

Myrtleville  Point  to  Galley 

Head,  West,  Co.  Cork  .  . 

125 

.436 

*9 

8.  Skibbereen 

Galley  Head  to  Snave  Bridge 

at  the  head  of  Bantry  Bay 

312 

1,302 

59 

9.  Castletown 

Kenmare   Bridge   to   Snave 

Bere 

Bridge,  Co.  Cork 

248 

1,224 

— 

10.  Valentia 

Kenmare  Bridge,  South,  to 

Inch  Point,  North 

262 

I,OOI 

10 

ii.  Dingle 

Inch  Point,  South,  to  Blen- 

nerville,  North 

277 

805 

3 

12.  Kilkee 

Meenogahane,  Co.  Kerry,  to 

Hag's  Head 

169 

488 

2 

13.  Gal  way 

Canamallagh,   Co.   Clare,  to 

Mace  Head,  Co.  Galway 

999 

3,072 

44 

14.  Keel 

Doaghbeg  to  Doona  Head, 

West,  Co.  Mayo 

138 

572 

— 

15.  Belmullet 

Doona  Head  to  Butter  Point 

Co.  Mayo 

261 

869 

— 

16.  Pullendiva 

Bartragh  Island,  Co.  Mayo, 

to  Coney's  Island,  Co.  Sligo 

— 

— 

76  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


NUMBER    OF    FISHING    VESSELS,    ETC. — Continued. 


IName  ot 
District. 

Boundaries. 

Employed  in  1914. 
Vessels.  Men.  Boy? 

17.  Sligo 

Strandhill       Barracks       to 

Donegal  Abbey,  Co  Donega 

106 

5i8 

— 

18.  Killybegs 

Donegal    Quay    to    Lower 

Ferry,  East,  Co.  Donegal 

308 

1,281 

/> 

i 

19.  Guidore 

Gweebarra     Bar     to     Mul- 

laghdoo,  Co.  Donegal    .  . 

— 

— 

— 

20.  Rathmullen 

Lough    Swilly    to    Bloody 

Foreland 

225 

1,002 

— 

21.  Moville 

Inch     Embankment,     Bun- 

crana,  to  Magilligan  Point, 

Co.  Derry 

156 

715 

— 

22.  Ballycastle 

Downhill,     Co.     Derry,     to 

(Antrim) 

Jenny's  Bridge,  Co.  Antrim 

104 

229 

— 

23.  Carrick- 

Jenny's     Bridge     to     Fort 

fergus 

William  Park,  nr.  Belfast 

65 

135 

2 

24.  Donagha- 

Tilly's   Burn,    near   Belfast 

dee 

Lough,  to  Newcastle  Quay, 

Down 

166 

490 

2 

25.  Strangford 

Newcastle  Quay,  North,  to 

Sheepland  Head,  South  .  . 

— 

— 

— 

26.  Newcastle 

Sheepland  Head  to  Kilkeel, 

River  Foot,  South 

222 

580 

38 

27.  Dundalk 

River  Foot,  Kilkeel,  North, 

to  Maiden  Tower,  mouth  of 

Boyne,  South 

155 

456 

I 

28.  Malahide 

Laytown    to    Baldoyle,  Co. 

Dublin     ..         .  .         .. 

54 

157 

5 

TOTAL 

4,841 

17,205 

252 

The  following  table  shows  the  total  quantity  and  value 
of  fish  (exclusive  of  salmon)  returned  as  landed  on  the  coasts 
of  Ireland  in  each  of  the  years  1903  to  1919.  The  reader 
will  notice  that,  although  the  total  value  has  increased  in  the 
past  four  years,  the  quantity  of  fish  landed  on  the  coasts  of 
Ireland  has  only  averaged  785,635  cwts.  per  annum  for  the 


AGRICULTURE,   FISHERIES,   FOOD          77 

past  seventeen  years,  a  fact  which  clearly  indicates  that  there 
is  room  for  considerable  further  development  in  this  industry. 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  QUANTITY  AND  VALUE  OF  FISH  (EXCLUSIVE 
OF  SALMON)  RETURNED  AS  LANDED  ON  THE  COASTS  OF  IRELAND  IN 
EACH  OF  THE  YEARS  1903-19. 


Year. 

Quantity  Cwts.1 

Value  /2: 

1903 

838,412 

427,800 

1904 

951,836 

393,630 

1905 

998,206 

414,364 

1906 

753,471 

373,491 

1907 

697,901 

341,049 

1908 

747,056 

337,813 

1909 

993,083 

363,801 

1910 

1,041,351 

375,630 

igil 

989,484 

374,085 

1912 

894,144 

367,367 

1913 

676,392 

358,547 

1914 

589,996 

286,489 

1915 

550,194 

374,9J7 

1916 

566,137 

495,996 

1917 

662,755 

704,240 

1918 

760,986 

1,058,236 

I9I93 

644,399 

603,736 

The  major  portion  of  the  fresh  fish  landed  in  Ireland  is 
despatched  to  markets  in  England  ;  whilst,  until  shipping 
became  scarce  during  the  war  years,  considerable  quantities 
of  pickled  mackerel  were  shipped  from  Ireland  to  the  United 
States  of  America.  Russian  and  German  buyers  were,  in 
pre-war  years,  good  customers  for  Irish  pickled  herrings. 

The  principal  product  of  Irish  inland  fisheries  is  salmon, 
although  this  fish  is  mainly  procured  in  tidal  waters  or  the 

1  Exclusive  of  Shell  Fish. 

2  Inclusive  of  Shell  Fish. 

3  The  figures  for  1919  are  subject  to  correction  in  the  Department's 
Annual  Returns. 


78  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

open  sea.  Twenty  years  ago  the  Irish  salmon  fishery  was 
estimated  to  produce  £300,000  per  annum,  while  the  number 
of  professional  fishermen  employed  in  it  was  reckoned  to  be 
from  12,000  to  13,000.  The  average  number  of  men  engaged 
in  the  Irish  salmon  fisheries  in  1915  was  11,610  ;  in  1916 
it  was  10,465  ;  and  in  1917  it  was  10,525.  Oyster  fisheries 
are  to  be  found  in  Carlingf ord  Lough,  Tralee  Bay,  Clarenbridge, 
Co.  Galway,  and  less  important  ones  elsewhere  throughout 
the  country.  The  produce  of  the  Irish  oyster  fisheries  in 
the  following  years  was  : — 


Year. 

Quantity  No. 

Value  £ 

1915 

1,491,060 

3,546 

1916 

3,271,635 

8,048 

1917 

2,223,983 

6,679 

1918 

2,598,887 

8,603 

I9I91 

442,736 

768 

Mussels  are  exported  in  fair  quantity,  chiefly  from  Castle- 
maine  Harbour,  whilst  the  Irish  lobster  industry  represents 
a  valuable  national  asset. 

A  comparatively  small  quantity  of  the  fish  landed  on  the 
coasts  of  Ireland,  as  well  as  that  caught  in  Irish  inland 
fisheries,  is  consumed  in  Ireland ;  the  major  quantity  being 
exported  from  the  country.  At  the  same  time  we  import 
from  across-channel  large  quantities  of  fish,  much  of  which 
is  inferior  in  quality  to  that  landed  on  our  own  coasts.  The 
explanation  given  for  this  procedure  is  that  the  Irish 
consumer  will  not  pay  the  higher  price  for  Irish  fish ;  and, 
secondly,  that  the  Irish  retailer  secures  a  larger  profit  from 
the  sale  of  imported  fish.  No  doubt,  were  the  sale  of  Irish 
fish  more  systematically  organized  in  Ireland — were  the 
distributing  agencies  in  a  position  to  cope  more  efficiently 
with  the  home  demand  and  able  to  guarantee  regular  supplies, 
the  cost  to  the  consumer  could  be  reduced,  and  a  larger 
consumption  in  Ireland  of  superior  quality  Irish  fish  would 
result. 

1  The  figures  for  1919  are  subject  to  correction  in  the  Department's 
Annual  Returns. 


AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,   FOOD          79 

This  reference  to  the  Irish  Fisheries  is,  of  necessity,  frag- 
mentary and  very  incomplete,  but  the  scope  of  this  work 
does  not  permit  of  a  more  lengthy  reference  being  given  to 
the  subject.  Tables  showing  the  quantity,  value,  and  kinds 
of  fish  imported  into  and  exported  from  Ireland  in  each  of 
the  years  1904  to  1918,  the  latest  date  for  which  these  figures 
are  available,  will  be  found  in  Appendix  I.  (see  pp.  292-295). 


3.      THE    BACON-CURING    INDUSTRY 

John  Francis  Maguire,  writing  in  the  year  1853,  stated  : 
"  Irish  bacon  brings  the  highest  price  in  the  London  market 
at  this  moment,  being  considered  superior  to  the  best 
Hamburg,  and  infinitely  superior  to  the  American."  That 
was  only  a  few  years  after  the  failure  of  the  potato  crop,  at 
the  time  of  the  famine,  when  the  Irish  pig  industry  passed 
through  a  period  of  serious  crisis.  The  entire  number  of 
pigs  in  Ireland  in  the  year  1841  was  1,412,813  ;  in  1848  it 
had  fallen  to  565,629  ;  a  year  later  it  increased  to  795,463, 
and  in  1850  it  rose  still  higher,  to  923,502. 

The  Solicitor-General  for  Ireland,  in  a  paper  which  he  read 
before  the  Social  Science  Congress  in  Dublin  in  the  year  1860, 
estimated  that,  at  that  date,  the  Irish  farming  classes  received 
about  £3,500,000  per  annum  from  this  branch  of  trade,  and 
that  the  number  of  pigs  in  Ireland  that  year  was  1,268,590. 

"  Belfast,"  he  stated,  "  is  the  only  place  in  Ulster  where  a 
large  provision  trade  is  carried  on,  and  its  exports,  partly  of  hams, 
are  considerable,  while  in  Munster  there  are  large  establishments 
at  Waterford,  Cork,  and  Limerick.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
bacon  and  hams  cured  in  Belfast  is  exported  to  the  colonies,  and 
the  remainder  finds  consumption  in  this  country,  as  well  as  in 
Lancashire  and  the  North  oi  England.  A  similar  trade  to  that 
of  Belfast  has  been  carried  on  in  Limerick  for  many  years.  .  .  . 
Of  the  Irish  supply  (of  bacon)  to  the  London  market  consider- 
ably more  than  one-half  is  cured  in  Waterford.  .  .  .  An  article 
is  now  produced  by  the  Irish  curers  which  brings  the  highest  price 
in  the  best  markets  in  the  world." 

"  About  1877,"  Sir  Alec  Shaw,  of  Limerick,  tells  us,  "  some  of 
the  bacon  curers  in  Munster  made  efforts  to  improve  the  pigs 
in  the  districts  from  which  they  drew  their  supplies,  but  it  was 
not  until  about  ten  years  later  that  any  organized  effort  was 


80  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

made  by  the  members  of  the  provision-curing  trade  to  get  the 
fanners  to  breed  the  class  of  pigs  most  profitable  to  themselves 
and  most  suitable  for  the  production  of  high-class  bacon." 

In  his  article,  which,  written  in  the  year  1902,  will  be  found 
in  Ireland :  Industrial  and  Agricultural,  Sir  Alec  Shaw  further 
stated  : 

The  South  of  Ireland  Bacon  Curers'  Pig  Improvement  Associa- 
tion has  three  breeding  establishments,  one  at  Limerick,  one  at 
Cork,  and  another  in  Waterford.  To  each  of  these  is  attached  a 
skilled  inspector  whose  duty  it  is  to  keep  in  constant  touch  with 
the  boar-keepers  in  his  district ;  to  supply  them  with  boars 
bred  at  these  establishments  or  purchased  from  the  herds  of 
reliable  breeders,  such  boars  being  calculated  to  rectify  the 
faults  that  may  be  noticed  generally  in  the  pigs  of  districts  where 
they  are  stationed,  and  to  prevent  in-and-in  breeding.  We  are 
informed  that  this  Association  has  up  to  the  present  spent  £13,000 
in  their  improvement  schemes,  and  that  for  the  past  four  years 
they  have  sent  out  over  1,420  boars,  which  were  placed  as  follows  : 
Tipperary,  231;  Galway,  115;  Clare,  188 ;  Roscommon,  28; 
Limerick,  133  ;  Kerry,  67  ;  Sligo,  24  ;  King's  County,  51  ; 
Cork,  91  ;  Mayo,  74 ;  Queen's  County,  77 ;  Kildare,  27 ; 
Wexford,  115  ;  Waterford,  71  ;  Kilkenny,  108  ;  and  Carlow,  18. 
Of  late  years  the  Congested  Districts  Board  have  included  the 
distribution  of  boars  in  the  good  work  in  which  they  have  been 
engaged,  having  placed  230  boars  ;  Donegal  having  received 
37  ;  Cork,  15  ;  Kerry,  18  ;  Mayo,  83  ;  Galway,  40  ;  Sligo,  7  ; 
Leitrim,  15,  and  Roscommon,  15. 

In  1901  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  Ireland  issued 
its  first  scheme  for  the  improvement  of  the  breeding  of  swine. 
The  first  clause  of  the  scheme  reads  as  follows :  The  joint 
fund  available  under  this  scheme  for  encouraging  improvement 
in  the  breeds  of  swine  shall  be  applied  chiefly  in  providing 
premiums  for  selected  pure-bred  boars  ;  and  the  remainder 
may  be  offered  in  prizes  at  county  and  local  shows. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Ireland  has,  since  1887,  made 
organized  efforts  to  improve  the  quality  of  her  swine,  and 
it  is  to  this  action  that  we  may  attribute  the  fact  that  Irish 
pigs  shipped  alive,  and  bacon  and  hams  cured  in  Ireland, 
maintain  to-day  as  high  a  reputation  in  the  markets  of  the 
world  as  they  did  seventy  years  ago,  when  competition  was 
far  less  severe. 

In  1902  there  were  20  factories  in  Ireland  engaged  in  the 


AGRICULTURE,   FISHERIES,   FOOD          81 

curing  of  bacon  and  hams — exclusive  of  a  number  of  small 
curers  who  killed  merely  to  supply  a  limited  local  trade. 
These  factories  dealt  annually  with  about  850,000  pigs,  and 
employed  over  1,600  workpeople.  The  Census  of  Production 
Returns,  1907,  showed  some  improvement  in  the  number  of 
persons  employed,  the  total  number  at  that  date  being 
2,049,  made  up  as  follows,  viz  :  Wage  Earners,  1,355  males 
and  413  females  ;  Salaried  Persons,  270  males  and  n  females. 

The  Total  Value  of  the  Output  was    £3,584,000 
Cost  of  Materials  used      3,372,000 

Net  Value  of  Output    £212,000 

To  enable  the  reader  to  realize  the  extent  of  the  export 
branch  of  this  industry,  I  give,  following,  a  comparative  table, 
showing  the  quantity  of  bacon  and  hams  exported  from  Ireland 
in  the  years  1904  to  1918,  and  the  quantity  of  these 
commodities  imported  into  this  country. 


EXPORTS. 

IMPORTS. 

BACON. 

HAMS. 

BACON. 

HAMS. 

Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

QuantityCwt? 

Quantity  Cwts 

Quantity  Cwts 

1904 

780,405 

I2I,o6l 

658,623 

25,580 

I9°5 

712,984 

107,014 

732,042 

35,019 

1906 

721,130 

115,920 

794,680 

33,9!6 

1907 

859,608 

120,021 

773,547 

27,518 

1908 

916,677 

127,056 

845,835 

43,794 

1909 

888,713 

116,077 

681,469 

38,922 

1910 

886,986 

117,506 

477,382 

25,464 

1911 

966,834 

126,242 

614,578 

26,786 

•   1912 

163,063 

142,091 

564,093 

21,610 

1913 

995,257 

120,419 

568,921 

23,504 

1914 

969,139 

121,250 

557,271 

20,543 

19*5 

1,025,367 

119,980 

763,268 

43,978 

1916 

1,056,856 

128,526 

832,543 

35,6i7 

1917 

895,650 

71,785 

644,683 

31,30° 

1918 

378,236 

33,184 

222,659 

6,107 

82  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  total  value  of  the  bacon  exported  in  these  fifteen  years 
was  £51,019,685  ;  an  average  of  £3,401,312  per  annum.  The 
total  value  of  the  hams  exported  was  £8,556,341  ;  an  average 
of  £570,422  per  annum.  The  total  value  of  the  bacon  imported 
was  £33,805,791  ;  an  average  of  £2,253,719  per  annum  ;  and 
the  total  value  of  the  hams  imported  was  £1,490,342  ;  an 
average  of  £99,356  per  annum. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  about  37  per  cent,  of  the  pigs 
reared  in  Ireland  are  consumed  in  this  country. 

The  total  number  of  pigs  in  Ireland  in  each  of  the  following 
years  was : — 


Year 

No.  of  Pigs. 

Year. 

No.  of  Pigs. 

1851 

1,084,857 

1908 

1,217,840 

1861 

1,102,042 

1909 

1,149,179 

1871 

1,621,423 

1910 

I,2OO,OO5 

1881 

1,095,830 

1911 

I,4I5,H9 

1891 

1,367,712 

1912 

1,323,957 

1901 

1,219,135 

19*3 

1,060,360 

1902 

1,327,610 

1914 

1,305,638 

1903 

1,383,516 

i9J5 

1,205,249 

1904 

1,315,126 

1916 

1,290,289 

I9°5 

1,164,316 

1917 

947,472 

1906 

1,244,193 

1918 

974,385 

1907 

1,317,069 

1919 

977,963 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  number  of  pigs  in  the 
country  at  various  intervals  during  the  past  seventy  years 
had  not  changed  to  any  considerable  extent  until  after  the 
bad  potato  harvest  of  1916.  The  reader  should  bear  in  mind 
that  a  revolution  has  taken  place  in  the  quality  of  this  stock, 
owing  to  improved  breeding,  and  that  were  it  not  for  this 
latter  fact  Irish  pigs,  bacon  and  hams  would  not  represent 
anything  like  their  present-day  value.  In  fact,  had  not  a 
considerable  improvement  taken  place  there  would  be  little 
or  no  market  for  them  to-day. 


AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,   FOOD         83 


4.      PRESERVED  MEATS,   ETC. 

Although  this  industry  is  not  carried  on  extensively  in 
Ireland,  it  is  worthy  of  passing  mention,  for  the  reason  that 
one  of  the  two  firms  engaged  in  it  sends  its  Irish  products 
to  all  parts  of  the  world,  although  the  fact  that  these  products 
are  of  Irish  manufacture  is  known  to  comparatively  few 
persons.  I  refer  to  the  firm  of  Messrs.  Crosse  &  Blackwell, 
Ltd.,  of  London,  whose  factory  in  the  City  of  Cork  has  pro- 
duced the  highest  quality  preserved  and  tinned  meats,  fish, 
and  soups  for  considerably  over  half  a  century  past. 
Secondly,  the  other  Irish  firm  producing  these  goods — Messrs. 
W.  J.  Shaw  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  Garry owen  Bacon  Factory, 
Limerick — added  this  branch  industry  to  their  already 
extensive  bacon-curing  factory  about  twelve  years  ago, 
mainly  with  the  object  of  stimulating  an  extension  of  trade 
in  their  city. 

Following  is  a  Return  of  the  quantity  of  Preserved  Meat 
exported  from  Ireland  in  the  years  1904-18  : — 


Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

1904 

4,404 

1912 

11,638 

I9°5 

6,190 

I9J3 

5,247 

1906 

8,474 

1914 

22,72O 

1907 

5,826 

1915 

8,727 

1908 

7,749 

1916 

2,971 

1909 

7,483 

1917 

2,835 

1910 

5,622 

1918 

4,258 

1911 

9,010 

The  total  value  of  the  quantity  exported  in  these  fifteen 
years  was  £381,390  ;  an  average  of  £25,426  per  annum.  No 
d.iiibt  a  proportion  of  these  firms'  products  was  also  included 
under  the  heading,  "  Provisions  and  Groceries,"  and  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  their  output  is  consumed  in  Ireland 
— probably  the  greater  part  of  that  of  the  Limerick  firm. 


84  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


5.      THE   BUTTER  INDUSTRY 

The  Irish  butter  industry  ranks  amongst  the  earliest  of 
our  industrial  activities,  and  the  Irish  export  trade  in  this 
commodity  to  the  West  Indies,  Spain,  Portugal,  Brazil,  the 
Mediterranean,  California,  Australia  and  other  foreign  lands 
was,  in  earlier  days,  of  considerable  magnitude.  As  the 
trade  developed  and  circumstances  changed  it  became 
necessary  to  place  it  on  a  more  systematic  basis.  The  first 
effort  in  this  direction  was  the  establishment  of  the  Cork 
Butter  Exchange,  about  the  year  1770.  This  institution 
acted  as  a  most  valuable  agency  in  preserving  the  high 
reputation  of  Irish  butter.  All  butter  passing  through  its 
doors  was  graded  according  to  quality  and  branded  with  the 
market  guarantee  before  being  sold.  The  same  system 
prevails  there  at  the  present  day,  but  the  one-time  greatness 
of  this  market  has  declined  since  the  development  of  the 
Irish  creamery  industry  and  the  spread  of  Co-operative 
Creameries  throughout  the  country.  These  latter  have 
revolutionized  the  Irish  butter  industry  and  are  mainly 
responsible  for  having  saved  it  from  extinction,  having 
enabled  it  to  compete  against  the  high-grade  butter  produced 
in  Denmark  and  other  foreign  countries. 

Some  idea  of  the  Irish  export  trade  in  butter  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  may  be  obtained  from  the 
following  table : — 


Cwts. 

Annual  average  of  3  years  to 

1790 

.  .      198,140 

3       „ 

1800 

.  .      215,100 

5       „ 

1805 

.  .      225,187 

5       » 

1810 

.  •      303,586 

5       „ 

1815 

•  •      330,635 

5       „ 

1820 

.  .      365,226 

5 

1825 

.  .      442,883 

According  to  the  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  the 
quantity  of  butter  made  or  blended  in  Irish  Creameries  ard 
other  butter  factories  in  that  year  was  670,000  cwts.,  and  the 


AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,  FOOD 


85 


stated  value  of  this  quantity  was  £3,505,000.  The  total 
output  of  butter  (including  farmers'  butter)  made  in  Ireland 
in  the  year  ended  May  31,  1908,  was  1,724,000  cwts.,  valued 
at  £8,879,000 ;  in  the  year  ended  May  31,  1913,  the  total 
output  was  1,764,000  cwts.,  valued  at  £9,201,000. 

If  we  examine  the  return  issued  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  we  find  that  the  quantity  and  value  of  butter 
exported  from  and  imported  into  Ireland  in  the  years  1904 
to  1918  was  as  follows  : — 


EXPORTS. 

IMPORTS. 

Year. 

Quantity. 
Cwts. 

Value  £ 

Quantity. 
Cwts. 

Value  £ 

1904 

815,783 

3,655,728 

59>°53 

300,924 

I9°5 

813,921 

4,048,409 

57,438 

314,234 

1906 

844,027 

4,283,437 

60,194 

350,128 

1907 

818,004 

4,009,072 

63,258 

300,571 

1908 

751,942 

4,026,023 

62,918 

384,287 

1909 

719,625 

3,625,111 

68,347 

394,867 

1910 

698,907 

3,584,810 

77,945 

477,798 

1911 

688,362 

3,671,264 

88,472 

535,207 

1912 

778,778 

4,159,972 

65,73i 

432,555 

1913 

725,368 

3,735,645 

71,585 

454,831 

1914 

855,608 

4,641,673 

73,935 

467,462 

1915 

838,089 

5,751,385 

60,048 

443,942 

1916 

764,456 

6,163,427 

42,201 

369,905 

1917 

675,330 

6,896,808 

29,056 

303,877 

1918 

455,9H 

5,436,739 

4,464 

55,800 

The  Census  of  Production  Returns  gave  the  total  number 
of  persons  employed  in  Butter,  Cheese  and  Margarine  factories 
in  Ireland  in  1907  as  4,215,  made  up  as  follows  :  Wage 
Earners,  2,811  males  and  959  females ;  Salaried  Persons, 
417  males  and  28  females.  The  total  combined  value  of 
the  output  of  these  factories  was  returned  as  £4,020,000 ; 
cost  of  materials  used,  £3,663,000  ;  net  value  of  output, 
£357,000. 


86  MODERN   IRISH  TRADE   AND   INDUSTRY 


6.      THE    CHEESE    INDUSTRY 

Although  the  Irish  dairying  industry  is  of  such  considerable 
proportions,  the  making  of  cheese  is  a  branch  which  found 
little  favour  until  quite  recent  years.  We  Irish  are  not  large 
consumers  of  cheese,  as  are  the  folk  across-channel,  never- 
theless, as  will  be  seen  further  on,  the  quantity  of  our  imports 
of  this  commodity  represents  a  substantial  figure,  whereas 
our  home  production  was,  until  within  the  past  few  years,  a 
very  meagre  quantity. 

TABLE   OF   IMPORTS   AND    EXPORTS   OF   CHEESE. 


IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS. 

Year. 

Quantity. 
Cwts. 

Value  £ 

Quantity. 
Cwts. 

Value  £ 

1904 

42,707 

119,580 

1,142 

2,855 

1905 

41,422 

107,697 

Q2I 

2,395 

1906 

40,906 

117,605 

1,222 

3,5i3 

1907 

44445 

128,890 

2,460 

7,i34 

1908 

36,159 

103,053 

3,231 

9,208 

1909 

42,611 

121,441 

4,015 

n,443 

1910 

43,56o 

120,879 

3,365 

9,338 

1911 

46,573 

142,048 

6,031 

18,395 

1912 

42,986 

137,555 

IO,26O 

32,832 

i9T3 

45,157 

137,729 

6,372 

19,435 

1914 

54-838 

178,224 

9-591 

31,171 

19*5 

51,483 

209,793 

i5,7n 

64,022 

1916 

40,507 

201,522 

13,418 

54,678 

1917 

28,399 

187,433 

18,085 

119,361 

1918 

46,321 

312,667 

136,452 

921,051 

In  recent  years  the  home  demand  for  Irish  cheese  has 
increased,  and  the  quality  of  the  Irish  product  has  improved, 
so  that  the  purchaser  is  now  growing  accustomed  to  hearing 
the  seller  announce  the  fact,  as  an  additional  argument  in 
favour  of  the  cheese  he  is  offering  for  sale,  that  it  is  of  Irish 
manufacture.  The  principal  kind  of  cheese  produced  in 
Ireland  is  what  is  known  as  cream  cheese. 


AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,  FOOD 


87 


At  the  time  of  writing  there  are  199  factories  engaged  in 
the  production  of  cheese  in  Ireland,  and  it  is  also  becoming 
an  increasing  habit  for  Irish  farmers'  wives  to  produce  one 
or  more  cheeses,  from  time  to  time,  some  of  which  are  retained 
for  use  by  the  household  whilst  a  certain  number  of  them 
are  sold. 


7.      THE    MARGARINE    INDUSTRY 

Few  Irish  industries  have  developed  at  so  rapid  a  rate  as 
has  this.  Its  introduction  into  Ireland  is  of  comparatively 
recent  date,  and  for  a  number  of  years  it  made  only  moderate 
headway.  However,  the  shortage  of  butter  during  the  war 
years  and  the  abnormal  demand  for  substitutes  for  that 
commodity  gave  the  margarine  industry  a  first-class  oppor- 
tunity of  progressing.  This  the  Irish  firms  availed  themselves 
of  to  a  very  satisfactory  extent,  and  their  output  during  the 
past  five  years  has  risen  far  above  that  of  previous  years. 

Following  is  a  Return  of  the  Imports  and  Exports  of 
Margarine  during  the  years  1904  to  1918  : — 


IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS. 

Year. 

Quantity. 
Cwts. 

Value  £ 

Quantity. 
Cwts. 

Value  £ 

1904 

37385 

97,201 

28,318 

73,627 

I9°5 

42,928 

108,393 

28,262 

71,362 

1906 

45,057 

111,517 

40,215 

99,532 

1907 

40,187 

100,970 

33,96o 

85,324 

1908 

46,243 

118,498 

53,076 

136,007 

1909 

45,680 

117,626 

65,784 

169,394 

1910 

54,376 

142,737 

71,144 

186,753 

igil 

56,163 

146,024 

73,171 

190,245 

1912 

75,470 

196,222 

63,739 

165,721 

i9J3 

83,807 

215,803 

58,091 

149,584 

1914 

86,434 

203,120 

61,982 

145,658 

i9J5 

109,278 

305,978 

84,038 

235,306 

1916 

i4i,75i 

462,463 

163,219 

457,013 

1917 

149,699 

643,706 

244,382 

1,050,843 

1918 

19,912 

103,542 

126,353 

657,036 

88  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  reader  should  bear  in  mind  that,  in  addition  to  their 
export  trade,  Irish  margarine  manufacturers  dispose  of  a  large, 
if  not  the  larger,  share  of  their  output  in  Ireland.  The  Irish 
firms  engaged  in  the  industry  have  displayed  considerable 
enterprise,  and  there  is  every  probability  of  this  industry 
developing  to  a  still  greater  extent  in  the  near  future. 


8.      FLOUR    MILLING 

No  Irish  industry  has  had  to  face  fiercer  competition  from 
outside  these  shores,  and  has  done  it  more  successfully  in  the 
long  run  than  the  Irish  Flour  Milling  industry.  Sixty  years 
ago  a  corn  mill  was  as  recognized  an  institution  in  each 
district  as  the  village  smithy,  but,  with  the  introduction  of 
new  methods  of  manufacture,  and  the  establishment  of  large- 
scale  mills,  trade  fell  away  from  these  old-fashioned  concerns 
until  one  by  one  they  fell  into  desuetude. 

The  name  given  to  the  modern  method  of  milling  flour 
is  the  Roller  System.  It  originated  in  Buda  Pesth  in  the  year 
1840,  but  was  not  adopted  in  Ireland  until  about  1883.  It 
is,  however,  recorded  that  one  Irish  firm  of  millers  installed 
a  roller  system  as  early  as  the  year  1863.  The  introduction 
of  this  system  created  a  world-wide  revolution  in  the  milling 
industry.  At  first  the  Hungarians  secured  the  bulk  of  the 
trade  for  the  new  style  of  flour,  but  by  the  year  1875  the 
system  had  been  adopted  generally  in  the  great  wheat- 
growing  districts  in  America  and  later  it  took  root  in  Great 
Britain.  The  roller  system  enabled  millers  to  make  attractive- 
looking  flour  from  the  hard  wheats  such  as  are  grown  in  the 
northern  districts  of  America,  the  Argentine,  Russia  and 
Hungary.  These  wheats,  if  submitted  to  the  millstone 
process,  produce  a  much  darker  and  less  attractive-looking 
flour  than  soft  wheats,  such  as  those  grown  in  Ireland,  when 
treated  by  this  older  process. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  realize  the  crisis  that  resulted  in  the 
Irish  flour-milling  industry.  The  cost  of  installing  the  new 
type  of  plant  was  considerable ;  further,  it  required  the 
application  of  far  more  scientific  methods  to  produce  flour 
of  the  quality  and  texture  possessed  by  the  Hungarian  and 
American  brands.  If  the  Irish  miller  wanted  to  continue 
in  business  he  had  to  face  and  surmount  these  difficulties. 


AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,  FOOD          89 

In  many  cases  he  did  not  possess  the  capital  necessary  to 
undertake  so  big  a  proposition,  in  others  he  hesitated  too 
long.  However,  as  we  have  stated,  by  1883  a  number  of 
enterprising  men  in  this  country  had  installed  this  new 
system  of  flour-milling,  but  the  fight  they  were  obliged  to 
make  to  recover  a  satisfactory  share  of  the  home  market — 
in  earlier  days  Ireland  possessed  a  considerable  export  trade 
in  flour — was  extremely  severe.  Fortunately,  they  were  men 
of  the  right  calibre,  and  it  is  to  them  we  owe  the  fact  that 
flour-milling  is  not  to  be  referred  to  as  one  of  Ireland's  lost 
industries. 

The  chief  revival  in  this  industry  may  be  dated  as  within 
the  past  fifteen  years.  A  writer  in  The  Times  of  March  17, 
1913,  in  alluding  to  this  subject,  stated  : — 

The  Irish  Industrial  Associations  have  done  much  to  remove 
the  prejudice  that  at  one  time  denied  honour  to  Irish  milling 
prophets  in  their  own  country.  Not  many  years  ago  dealers 
would  tell  the  manufacturers  that  if  business  were  to  be  done  in 
Irish  flour  it  must  resemble  American  in  every  possible  particular. 
Then  came  the  happy  thought  of  an  exclusive  national  trade 
mark  with  its  concomitant  agitation  for  the  support  of  home 
industry.  The  result  was  that  most  Irish  millers  applied  for 
licence  to  use  the  Irish  Trade  Mark,  and  to  their  extreme  satis- 
faction found  a  new  public  that  asked  for  Irish  flour,  and  saw 
that  it  got  it.  Not  that  Irish  millers  enjoy  a  monopoly  ;  but 
the  value  to  them  of  this  change  of  sentiment  may  be  measured  by 
the  anxiety  of  their  rivals  in  other  countries  to  adopt  marks  and 
brands  of  Hibernian  suggestiveness. 

The  first  step  in  deciding  the  relative  merits  of  Irish  and 
American-milled  flour  occurred  in  the  year  1903,  when  the 
present  writer  purchased  three  separate  pounds  of  flour — 
one  pound  of  an  American-milled  brand  (which  was  the 
most  popular  flour  on  sale  in  the  south  of  Ireland  in  those 
days),  one  pound  of  a  Cork-milled  brand,  and  one  pound  of  a 
north  of  Ireland-milled  brand.  These  he  put  into  unprinted 
bags  marked  with  numbers  ;  the  next  step  was  to  get  a  first- 
class  baker  to  bake  the  contents  of  each  bag  separately  and 
number  the  loaves  in  accordance  with  the  numbers  on  the 
bags.  This  having  been  successfully  accomplished,  he 
secured  the  attendance  of  the  agent  for  the  American  flour, 
together  with  a  gentleman  who  was  one  of  the  judges  at  the 


90  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

Bakers'  Exhibition  in  London,  and  got  them,  jointly,  to 
judge  the  various  loaves — they  were  uninformed  as  to  the 
brands  of  the  flour  used.  The  result  was  that  they  unani- 
mously placed  the  Cork  flour  first,  the  north  of  Ireland 
second,  and  the  American  third.  This  fact  was  circulated 
very  extensively  throughout  the  country,  and  helped  in 
destroying  the  groundless  prejudice  which  existed  up  to  then 
regarding  the  quality  of  Irish-milled  flour. 

In  1907  we  find,  by  reference  to  the  Census  of  Production 
Returns,  that  the  Irish  grain  and  milling  industries  gave 
employment  to  4,875  persons,  subdivided  as  follows,  viz : 
Wage  Earners,  3,991  males  and  107  females ;  Salaried  Persons, 
735  males  and  42  females. 

The  Total  Value  of  the  Output  was  returned  as  £7,463,000 
Cost  of  Materials  used  6,750,000 

Net  Value  of  Output  £713,000 

For  several  years  before  the  War  American  competition 
eased  off  considerably,  mainly  owing  to  the  expanding  Home 
demand  resulting  from  the  increased  population  of  the  United 
States.  But  this  did  not  give  Irish  millers  a  monopoly  of 
their  home  market.  A  number  of  gigantic  mills  were  erected 
in  close  proximity  to  the  principal  English  seaports.  To 
run  a  flour  mill  economically  it  is  necessary  to  work  both  day 
and  night  shifts.  Consequently,  England  being  over  milled, 
the  output  of  these  huge  mills  frequently  exceeded  the  home 
demand  for  flour.  When  their  stocks  became  too  heavy,  as 
they  frequently  did,  the  cross-channel  millers  did  not  reduce 
the  price  in  their  own  country ;  but,  instead,  dumped  their 
surplus  stocks  into  Ireland  at  or  below  cost  price.  This  was 
one  of  the  kinds  of  competition  which  Irish  millers  were 
subjected  to  up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  War.  Since  then  the 
demand  for  flour,  owing  to  the  world  shortage  that  arose, 
was  so  great  that  the  British  Government  took  control  of 
wheat  supplies  and  also  of  the  flour  mills  in  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  regulated  the  quality  and  selling  price  of  the 
products,  as  well  as  the  disposal  of  same,  and  the  proprietors 
of  the  mills  carried  on  their  business  under  Government 
instruction  and  for  Government  account — they  being  paid  a 


AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,  FOOD         91 

salary  as  recompense  for  their  services  in  managing  the  mills. 
Generally  speaking,  so  far  as  Ireland  was  concerned,  this 
control  worked  fairly  smoothly  and  efficiently,  and  resulted 
in  Irish  flour  mills,  when  sufficient  wheat  supplies  reached  the 
country,  being  kept  going  to  the  maximum  of  their  capacity, 
producing  flour  for  which  there  was  an  immediate  outlet. 

Some  of  the  chief  assets  derivable  by  a  country  from  the 
possession  of  an  extensive  flour-milling  industry,  besides  the 
direct  employment  given  by  the  industry  itself,  are  the 
encouragement  given  to  the  native  farmer  to  grow  larger 
quantities  of  wheat,  for  which  he  is  sure  of  a  satisfactory 
market,  and  the  fact  that  the  offals  produced  in  the  course 
of  manufacturing  flour  are  readily  available  for  pig-feeding 
in  the  various  districts  in  which  the  mills  are  situated,  and  so 
encouragement  is  given  to  the  extension  and  development 
of  this  latter  lucrative  industry. 

Following  is  a  return  showing  the  quantity  and  value  of 
wheat-flour  imported  into  Ireland  in  the  years  1904  to  1918 : — 


Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

Value  £ 

1904 

5,529,278 

2,764,639 

1905 

5,596,214 

2,798,107 

1906 

5,399,355 

2,521,187 

1907 

5,261,607 

2,652,726 

1908 

4,697,156 

2,563,865 

1909 

4,513,657 

2,595,353 

1910 

4,602,990 

2,685,078 

1911 

5,001,058 

2,625,555 

1912 

4,775,622 

2,586,795 

1913 

4,968,282 

2,629,049 

1914 

5,198,035 

2,858,919 

1915 

4,661,898 

3,690,669 

1916 

4,830,238 

4,166,080 

1917 

5,132,073 

6,650,311 

1918 

5,607,244 

7,569,779 

92  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

At  the  present  day  flour  mills  are  operating  in  the  following 
districts  in  Ireland :  Athy  (Co.  Kildare)  ;  Aughrim  (Co. 
Wicklow)  ;  Bagnalstown  (Co.  Carlow)  ;  Ballymena  (Co. 
Antrim)  ;  Bandon  (Co.  Cork)  ;  Belfast ;  Belmont  (King's 
Co.)  ;  Bennetsbridge  (Co.  Kilkenny)  ;  Buttervant  (Co. 
Cork)  ;  Cahir  (Co.  Tipperary)  ;  Carlow ;  Castletownroche 
(Co.  Cork)  ;  Clara  (King's  Co.)  ;  Clonakilty  (Co.  Cork)  ; 
Cork  ;  Crookstown  (Co.  Cork)  ;  Dublin  ;  Enniscorthy  (Co. 
Wexford)  ;  Fermoy  (Co.  Cork)  ;  Galway ;  Kilrush  (Co. 
Clare)  ;  Limerick ;  Londonderry ;  Lucan  (Co.  Dublin)  ; 
Mallow  (Co.  Cork)  ;  Maryboro'  (Queen's  Co.)  ;  Midleton 
(Co.  Cork)  ;  Naas  (Co.  Kildare)  ;  Navan  (Co.  Meath)  ;  Port- 
arlington  (Queen's  Co.)  ;  Rathdrum  (Co.  Wicklow)  ;  Sligo  ; 
St.  Mullins  (Queen's  Co.)  ;  Thomastown  (Co.  Kilkenny)  ; 
Portlaw  (Co.  Waterford)  ;  and  Wexford.  The  number  of 
Irish  firms  engaged  in  this  industry  to-day  is  forty-four, 
whilst  the  number  of  flour  mills  operating  is  forty-nine. 


9.       BAKERIES   AND    BISCUIT   FACTORIES 

Nearly  every  town  in  Ireland  is  possessed  of  a. bakery,  and 
the  number  of  biscuit  factories  in  the  country  amounts  to 
about  half  a  dozen.  The  leading  concerns  in  the  latter 
industry  are  situated  in  Belfast,  Dublin,  and  Londonderry, 
much  the  largest  of  these  being  the  Dublin  factory  of  Messrs. 
W.  &  R.  Jacob  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  whose  products  are  shipped  to 
all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  pioneers  of  machine  biscuit-making  in  Ireland  were 
Messrs.  George  Baker  &  Co.,  of  Cork,  who  established  this 
industry  in  the  year  1844.  Since  then,  although  the  industry 
has  been  confined  to  a  limited  number  of  Irish  factories,  it 
has  developed  very  considerably.  The  following  details  have 
been  extracted  from  the  census  of  Production  Returns, 
1907  :— 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  these  industries 
in  1907  was  returned  as  9,445,  made  up  as  follows  :  Wage 
Earners,  6,434  males  and  2,130  females.  Salaried  Persons, 
681  males  and  200  females. 


AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,  FOOD          93 


VALUE  OF  OUTPUT.   YEAR  1907. 

£ 

Bread                 . .         . .         . .         . .  1,657,000 

Bread,  Cakes,  Pastry,  etc.       . .          . .  875,000 

Biscuits,     Cakes,     Pastry,     etc.,     not 

separately  distinguished              . .  685,000 
Sugar  Confectionery  (including  Choco- 
late Confectionery)           . .         . .  2,000 

Marmalades,  Jams,  Fruit  Jellies,  and 

other  Products 15,000 


Total  Value  of  Output  . .         . .  £3,234,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used  . .         . .     2,282,000 


Net  Value  of  Output £952,000 


The  following  details  should  also  be  read  in  conjunction 
with  the  above,  viz  : — 


COCOA,   CONFECTIONERY   AND    PRESERVING 
FACTORIES. 


VALUE    OF    OUTPUT, 

L 

Sugar  Confectionery  (including  Choco- 
late Confectionery)   . .          . .         . .  214,000 

Marmalade,  Jams  and  Fruit  Jellies       . .  131,000 
Other  Preserved  Fruit  (including  Crystal- 
lized Fruit,  Candied  Peel,  etc.,  Fruit, 

canned  or  potted)     . .         . .         . .  16,000 

Bread,  Biscuits,  Pastry,  etc 8,000 

Other  Products     . .          . .          . .          . .  3,000 


Total  Value  of  Output £372,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used     . .         . .         . .     276,000 


Net  Value  of  Output        . .         . .         . .     £96,000 


The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  these  industries 
was  returned  as  1,644,  made  up  as  follows  :  Wage  Earners, 
370  males  and  1,141  females.  Salaried  Persons,  in  males 
and  22  females. 

Following  is  a  return  of  the  quantity  of  biscuits  imported 
into  and  exported  from  Ireland  in  the  years  1904  to  1918. 
As  will  be  seen,  it  indicates  a  most  satisfactory  condition  of 
affairs  so  far  as  this  industry  is  concerned. 


BISCUITS. 

IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS. 

Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

1904 

54,189 

228,732 

1905 

55,066 

245,39! 

1906 

60,986 

265,935 

1907 

68,630 

270,632 

1908 

67,793 

284,278 

1909 

71,486 

277,660 

1910 

73,591 

335,97° 

1911 

80,976 

350J91 

1912 

89,220 

368,904 

1913 

92,430 

313,820 

1914 

89,759 

331,707 

i9T5 

82,058 

335,602 

1916 

71,939 

320,806 

1917 

46,047 

415,948 

1918 

47,343 

373,724 

The  total  estimated  value  of  the  biscuits  imported  into 
Ireland  in  the  fifteen  years  mentioned  above  was  £1,776,176, 
being  an  average  of  £118,412  per  annum,  whilst  the  total 
estimated  value  of  the  biscuits  exported  from  Ireland  in  those 
years  was  £8,681,196,  being  an  average  of  £578,746  per 
annum.  The  estimated  value  of  the  biscuits  exported  from 
Ireland  in  the  year  1918  was  £1,345,406. 


AGRICULTURE,  FISHERIES,  FOOD 


95 


10.      THE   OATMEAL  INDUSTRY 

Several  large  mills  in  Ireland  specialize  in  the  production 
of  oatmeal  and  Rolled  Oats,  a  few  Irish  flour  mills  also  produce 
this  commodity,  and  numerous  small  grinding-mills  through- 
out the  country  do  likewise.  The  home  demand  is  so  well 
catered  for  by  Irish  firms  that  one  is  inclined  to  jump  to  the 
conclusion  that  here,  at  least,  is  an  Irish  product  which  has 
captured  the  Irish  market,  and  is  not  subjected  to  outside 
competition.  When  we  examine  more  closely  into  the  facts 
we  find  that  this  is  not  the  case  ;  that  although  Irish  mills 
produce  the  highest  quality  oatmeal  procurable,  and,  if  properly 
supported,  could  produce  a  sufficient  quantity  to  meet  the 
full  needs  of  the  country,  still  we  import  a  very  considerable 
quantity  of  this  article,  and  our  imports  exceed  the  amount  of 
our  exports.  The  following  table  illustrates  this  fact,  and 


RETURN   OF   IMPORTS   AND    EXPORTS 

OF  OATMEAL. 

IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS. 

Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

1904 

152,636 

176,244 

I9°5 

I5LI5I 

195,844 

1906 

170,984 

188,949 

1907 

174,185 

l8l,228 

1908 

194,798 

150,044 

1909 

134,748 

164,998 

1910 

169,358 

146,526 

1911 

172,909 

in,397 

1912 

164,651 

106,476 

1913 

163,826 

124,815 

1914 

132,786 

109,704 

I9T5 

119,015 

108,762 

1916 

140,353 

89,823 

1917 

134,462 

92,243 

1918 

140,294 

60,715 

96  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

shows  that  the  amount  exported  from   Ireland  has  been 
steadily  decreasing  for  years  past. 

The  total  value  of  the  quantity  imported  in  these  fifteen 
years  was  £1,706,576,  being  an  average  of  £113,772  per 
annum,  whilst  the  total  value  of  the  quantity  exported  was 
£1,367,025,  being  an  average  of  £91,135  per  annum. 


I.      SHIPBUILDING 
i 

NO  other  industry,  with  the  exception  of  agriculture, 
distributes  so  large  a  sum  annually  in  Ireland  as 
does  that  of  shipbuilding.     The   chief  seat  of  the 
industry  is  in  Belfast,  where  the  two  leading  Irish  firms  in 
this  line    have    their    yards.     The   world-famous   firm   of 
Messrs.  Harland  &  Wolffe,  Ltd.,1  the  larger  of  the  two,  was 
established  under  the  title  of  Messrs.  Robert  Hickson  &  Co., 
in  the  year  1853  ;  its  yards  at  present  cover  an  area  of  220 
acres,  and  during  the  years  1915  to  1918  the  number  of 
workpeople  employed  ranged  from  13,000  to  20,000. 

The  following  excerpts  are  taken  from  a  very  interesting 
pamphlet,  entitled,  The  History  of  Belfast  Shipbuilding, 
written  by  Professor  C.  H.  Oldham,  of  the  National  University, 
Dublin,  in  1910. a 

Edward  James  Harland,  a  younger  son  of  a  doctor  in  Scar- 
borough, had  served  an  apprenticeship  of  five  years,  1846-50, 
with  Robert  Stephenson  &  Co.,  engineers,  at  Newcastle-on- 
Tyne.  He  had  worked  as  a  journeyman  on  a  wage  of  aos.  a 
week  with  the  same  firm  till  1851,  and  then  at  Glasgow  till  the 
autumn  of  1853  with  J.  &  G.  Thomson,  an  able  firm  of  marine 
engine  builders,  who  were  just  starting  to  build  their  own  ships. 
Declining  a  more  permanent  position  at  increased  salary,  young 
Harland  came  back  to  the  Tyneside  to  take  up  a  manager's 
position,  offered  to  him  by  Mr.  Thomas  Toward,  a  shipyard 
owner,  whose  health  necessitated  his  spending  the  winter  abroad. 
There  Harland  was  superintending  the  building  of  ships  and 
marine  boilers,  and  he  had  full  charge  of  the  works.  It  seems 

1  This  firm  also  engaged  in  the  building  of  the  largest  type  of  aero- 
plane during  the  latter  years  of  the  recent  war. 

8  "  The  History  of  Belfast  Shipbuilding  "  (A.  Thorn.  &  Co.,  Ltd., 
Dublin,  6d.). 

7  97 


98  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

to  have  been  a  good  opening  for  an  able  young  man.  But  the 
future  prospects  of  the  Tyne  firm,  in  view  of  the  master's  infirm 
health,  were  somewhat  uncertain,  and  Harland  was  so  much 
struck  with  the  advantageous  location  of  the  new  Queen's  Island 
yard,  where  he  knew  he  would  have  a  free  hand,  that  he  applied 
for  the  Belfast  situation  and  got  it.  ...  After  he  had  carried  on 
Messrs.  Hickson's  business  successfully  for  three  years,  Mr. 
Harland  resolved  to  start  somewhere  as  a  shipbuilder  on  his  own 
account.  He  was  enquiring  after  suitable  sites  on  the  Mersey 
estuary,  when  Mr.  Hickson  frankly  met  him  with  a  satisfactory 
proposal  for  the  transfer  by  purchase  of  his  interest  in  Queen's 
Island  works. 

In  1859  the  sale  was  completed,  through  the  assistance  of  his 
friend,  Mr.  G.  C.  Schwabe,  of  Liverpool,  and  Mr.  Harland  began 
to  look  about  for  orders  as  his  own  master.     Some  six  years 
back,  while  working  as  a  journeyman  at  Glasgow,  he  had  been 
the  means  of  assisting  Messrs.  John  Bibby,  Sons  &  Co.,  of  Liver- 
pool, in  the  purchase  of  a  steamer.     That  firm  now  entrusted  him 
with  what  at  the  time  was  a  large  order — the  building  of  three 
screw  steamers,  each  270  feet  long,  by  34  feet  beam,  and  22  feet 
9  inches  in  the  hold.     When  arranging  for  this  job,  Mr.  Harland 
put  his  drawing  office  in  the  charge  of  Mr.  G.  W.  Wolffe,  an  able 
young  draughtsman,  who  had  served  an  apprenticeship  with 
Joseph  Whitworth  &  Co.,  of  Manchester,  and  who  was  a  nephew 
of  his  trusty  friend,  Mr.  G.  C.  Schwabe.     The  works  went  on 
prosperously.     The  three  steamers  were  all  completed  in  the 
course  of  1861,  and  their  delivery  was  promptly  followed  by  a 
second  order  from  the  Bibby  firm  for  two  larger  vessels.     Mr. 
Harland  at  this  point  took  Mr.  Wolffe  into  partnership,  and  since 
January  i,  1862,  the  firm  has  been  known  as  Harland  &  Wolffe. 
.  .  .  Originally   the   Queen's   Island    yard    had    attracted   Mr. 
Harland  because  its  clear  frontage  allowed  of  the  largest  vessels 
being  freely  launched.     He  was  the  first  shipbuilder  to  perceive 
that  an  iron  ship  need  not  be  kept  to  the  lines  that  were  most 
suitable  for  wooden  vessels.     He  had  early  conceived  his  theory 
that  if  an  iron  ship  were  increased  in  length  without  a  correspond- 
ing increase  of  beam,  the  carrying  power  both  for  cargo  and 
passengers  would  be  much  greater,  that  the  ships  would  show 
improved  qualities  in  a  sea-way,  and  that  (notwithstanding  the 
increased  accommodation)  the  same  speed  with  the  same  power 
would  be  obtained  by  only  a  slight  increase  in  the  first  capital 
cost.     This  idea  was  original  with  him,  and  is  the  reason  why 
Belfast  has  become  especially  the  place  for  building  very  large 
ships.  .  .  .  The   reputation    which    Harland    and    Wolffe   first 
made  with  the  twenty  or  more  ships  built  for  the  Bibbys,  has  been 
continuously  growing,  because  the  firm  has  ever  continued  to 


SHIPBUILDING  AND   ENGINEERING        99 

apply  new  ideas  in  the  design  of  their  vessels.  .  .  .  We  have 
said  that  the  shipbuilding  industry  was  originated  in  Belfast  by 
the  power  of  one  dominant  personality.  .  .  .  But  if  Mr.  Harland 
created,  a  whole  group  of  very  able  men  have  contributed  to  the 
continued  growth  of  the  business.  When  Sir  Edward  Harland 
died  in  1895  Mr.  Pirrie  succeeded  him  as  the  chairman  of  the  firm. 
He  had  been  made  a  partner  in  1874,  when  27  years  of  age.  He 
was  head  draughtsman  at  the  tune  when  the  White  Star  ships 
were  first  designed.  The  astonishing  development  of  the  firm's 
business  in  recent  years  is  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  energetic 
spirit  and  far-seeing  ability  of  Mr.  Harland 's  successor  and  pupil. 
It  was  of  Lord  Pirrie  the  late  Lord  Dufferin  spoke  the  memorable 
words  : 

"  That  he  was  a  man  who,  by  his  talents  and  indefatigable 
exertions,  had  so  stimulated  the  activity  of  his  town  that  he 
lifted  it  from  its  former  comparatively  inferior  position  to  that 
of  being  the  third  greatest  commercial  city  in  the  whole  Empire." 

I  would  recommend  the  reader  who  desires  to  learn  more 
about  the  wonderful  record  of  this  Irish  firm's  achievements 
to  procure  a  copy  of  Professor  Oldham's  pamphlet  from  which 
I  have  taken  the  irresistible  liberty  of  quoting  so  freely. 

The  other  Belfast  firm  is  Messrs.  Workman  Clark  &  Co., 
Ltd.1  This  firm's  business  was  established  in  the  year  1879. 
Their  yards  cover  an  area  of  100  acres,  and  they  employ 
an  average  of  10,000  workpeople.  They  hold  the  licence 
for  building  Parson's  steam  turbine  engines,  and  have  made 
a  speciality  of  it  in  their  larger  vessels.  It  was  they  who 
built  the  Allan  Liner  Victorian,  the  first  turbine  merchant 
steamer  to  be  placed  on  the  Atlantic  service. 

In  addition  to  these  two  firms  there  are  several  other 
shipbuilding  and  ship-repairing  yards  in  Ireland,  viz :  The 
Dublin  Dockyard  Co.,  Ltd.,  North  Wall,  Dublin,  established 
in  the  year  1902,  with  yards  covering  an  area  of  eleven  acres, 
and  employing  an  average  of  about  1,000  workpeople.  The 
North  of  Ireland  Shipbuilding  Co.,  Ltd.,  Foyle  Shipyard, 
Londonderry,  established  in  the  year  1912,  whose  yards 
cover  an  area  of  thirty  acres.  The  Queenstown  Dry  Dock 

1  Early  in  1920  the  Share  Capital  of  this  Company  was  acquired 
by  The  Northumberland  Shipbuilding  Company  Limited,  who  also 
own  or  control  a  number  of  shipbuilding  yards  and  steel  works  in  Great 
Britain.  The  authorized  Capital  of  the  Northumberland  Shipbuilding 
Company  has  been  raised  from  £500,000  to  £2,400,000,  and  at  the  time 
of  writing  powers  are  being  taken  to  increase  it  to  £7,000,000. 


100  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

Shipbuilding  and  Engineering  Co.,  Ltd.,  of  Passage  West,  and 
Rushbrook,  Co.  Cork  (now  owned  by  Messrs.  Furness,  Withy 
&  Co.,  Ltd.),  whose  yards  have  been  considerably  extended 
in  the  past  two  years.  Messrs.  J.  &  R.  Thompson,  Ltd.,  of 
Belfast,  established  a  yard  at  Warrenpoint,  Co.  Down,  a  few 
years  ago,  where,  in  execution  of  an  Admiralty  contract,  they 
built  five  ferro-concrete  vessels  of  about  3,568  tons  all  told. 
The  number  of  hands  employed  ranged  from  about  150  to 
400  at  different  intervals.  Their  contract  with  the  Admiralty 
having  expired,  they  discontinued  using  this  yard,  and  it 
is  uncertain  whether  or  not  it  will  be  reopened  as  a  ship- 
building yard. 

There  is  a  Government  ship-repairing  yard  at  Haulbowline, 
in  Queenstown  Harbour,  where  a  considerable  amount  of 
repair  work  to  naval  vessels  was  executed  during  the  period 
of  the  War.  Before  then,  however,  nothing  approaching  full 
use  was  made  of  the  capabilities  of  this  yard  for  executing 
such  work. 

An  additional  shipbuilding  and  ship-repairing  yard  has 
recently  been  established  in  Dublin.  A  new  company  has 
been  formed  under  the  title  of  Messrs.  Dublin  Shipbuilders, 
Ltd.,  which  has  acquired  about  eleven  acres  of  land  at  the 
Alexandra  Basin,  North  Wall,  Dublin,  and  has  also  taken  over 
the  existing  boat-repairing  works  of  the  Ringsend  Dockyard 
Co.  It  has  carried  on  the  latter  as  a  going  concern  ;  has 
laid  out  the  new  yard  on  the  most  up-to-date  lines,  and  is 
already  engaged  in  building  several  vessels. 

There  are  also  a  few  small  barge  and  motor-boat  builders, 
and  boat  repairing  yards  at  various  other  ports  throughout 
Ireland. 

The  history  of  the  Irish  shipbuilding  industry  abounds 
in  fascinating  details,  and  a  thoroughly  live  story  could  be 
woven  out  of  the  material  it  offers  the  historian.  The  present 
work,  however,  is  limited  to  setting  forth  such  facts  as  will 
enable  the  reader  to  acquire  a  mental  picture  of  the  position 
of  Irish  industries  in  modern  times;  all  other  detail  has  to 
be  excluded,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  that  the  space  at 
our  disposal  precludes  us  from  enlarging  upon  the  subject. 


SHIPBUILDING  AND  ENGINEERING      101 

The  following  table  illustrates  the  progress  that  has  taken 
place  in  this  industry  since  1842 : — 


SHIPBUILDING  IN  IRELAND  SINCE  1842. 

Year. 

Tonnage  of 
Ships  Built. 

Year. 

Tonnage  of 
Ships  Built. 

Year 

Tonnage  of 
Ships  Built. 

1842 

1,042 

1868 

7,575 

1894 

97,901 

1843 

922 

1869 

7,!55 

1895 

102,067 

1844 

415 

1870 

9,160 

1896 

H9,756 

1845 

446 

1871 

16,073 

1897 

109,277 

1846 

436 

1872 

14,642 

1898 

121,330 

I847 

300 

1873 

1,878 

1899 

131,723 

1848 

138 

I874 

16,238 

1900 

131,431 

1849 

755 

1875 

7,780 

1901 

152,402 

1850 

1,092 

1876 

9,602 

1902 

159,763 

1851 

1,840 

1877 

6,677 

1903 

158,542 

1852 

386 

1878 

14,755 

1904 

78,000 

1853 

2,748 

I879 

14,549 

1905 

144,500 

1854 

4,558 

1880 

13,842 

1906 

149,740 

1855 

5,444 

1881 

24,045 

1907 

139,442 

1856 

4.315 

1882 

28,122 

1908 

158,626 

1857 

7-452 

1883 

42,548 

1909 

120,867 

I858 

2,793 

1884 

30,686 

1910 

165,828 

1859 

3,935 

1885 

34,311 

1911 

183,390 

1860 

7,592 

1886 

26,471 

1912 

163,481 

1861 

7,549 

1887 

43,691 

I9T3 

130,899 

1862 

8,195 

1888 

40,326 

1914 

256,547 

1863 

9,979 

1889 

87,668 

i9T5 

38,095! 

1864 

17,140 

1890 

77,376 

1916 

10,  900  x 

1865 

9,190 

1891 

103,466 

1917 

78,936! 

1866 

9,408 

1892 

99,827 

1918 

182,356 

1867 

13,183 

1893 

87,256 

1919 

222,955 

1  These  totals  only  represent  the  tonnage  of  commercial  vessels 
built  in  those  years  ;  they  do  not  include  the  tonnage,  which  amounted 
to  a  very  considerable  figure,  of  Government  work  executed  by  Irish 
shipbuilding  yards.  The  figures  of  the  latter-mentioned  work  are 
not  procurable. 


102  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


2.      ENGINEERING. 

The  branches  of  the  engineering  trade  which  exist  in  Ireland 
are :  (i)  General  engineering,  including  iron  foundry  work  ; 
(2)  steam  engine  manufacture  ;  (3)  agricultural  machinery 
making  ;  (4)  boiler-making  ;  (5)  textile  machinery  making  ; 
(6)  cycle  making ;  (7)  motor  engineering ;  (8)  railway 
engineering ;  and  (9)  electrical  engineering.  With  the 
exception  of  Nos.  (2),  (3),  (6),  and  (8),  the  principal  firms 
engaged  in  these  industries  have  their  works  in  Belfast.  This, 
of  course,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they,  to  a  large  extent,  act 
as  subsidiary  industries  to  the  shipbuilding  and  linen  trades. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  engineering  works  under  nearly  all 
of  these  headings  to  be  found  scattered  throughout  the  south 
and  east  of  Ireland,  as  well  as  in  the  north. 

The  seat  of  the  agricultural  engineering  industry  is  in 
Wexford,  where  there  are  four  successful  firms  employed  in 
producing  farm  implements,  and  one  in  Ferns,  Co.  Wexford, 
manufacturing  agricultural  edged  tools.  All  of  these  cater 
for  the  home  and  foreign  markets.  One  of  the  Wexford 
firms — Messrs.  Philip  Pierce  &  Co.,  Ltd. — together  with  a 
very  enterprising  and  up-to-date  concern  in  Dublin — the 
Lucania  Cycle  and  Engineering  Works — have  the  distinction 
of  being  the  only  Irish  firms  manufacturing  bicycles.  The 
only  Irish  manufacturer  of  motor-cars  is  a  Belfast  firm,  and 
the  car  it  produces  has  earned  for  itself  a  thoroughly  sound 
reputation.  The  manufacturers  of  textile  machinery  in 
Belfast,  as  well  as  a  firm  there  which  specializes  in  the  manu- 
facture of  tea  machinery,  fans,  driers,  etc.,  have  acquired 
a  world-wide  reputation  for  their  products.  The  latter 
firm's  electric  fans  are  in  use  in  all  kinds  of  buildings,  railway 
carriages,  and  on  board  steamers  in  various  climes.  The 
principal  Irish  railway  engineering  works  are  at  Inchicore, 
Co.  Dublin,  and  Dundalk,  Co.  Louth. 

The  latest  entrant  into  the  engineering  industry  in  Ireland 
is  the  famous  firm  of  Messrs.  Henry  Ford  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  of 
Detriot,  U.S.A.  This  firm  has  acquired  a  considerable  amount 
of  land  in  the  City  of  Cork,  and  is,  at  the  time  of  writing, 
engaged  in  erecting  and  equipping  an  extensive  first-class 
factory  there  for  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  tractors. 
When  the  works  are  in  full  working  order  they  will  provide 


SHIPBUILDING  AND  ENGINEERING      103 

employment  for  a  considerable  number  of  highly-paid  work- 
people, and  will  also  be  the  means  of  providing  additional 
employment  in  the  district  in  other  industries  which  will 
serve  as  feeders  to  the  Ford  factory. 

During  the  period  of  the  war  ordinary  engineering  work  was 
brought  almost  to  a  standstill  in  Ireland,  owing  to  the  Govern- 
ment taking  over  control  of  raw  materials.  Most  of  the 
Irish  firms,  some  of  them  after  considerable  endeavour, 
succeeded  in  securing  contracts  for  the  manufacture  of  various 
munitions  of  war,  such  as  shells,  component  parts  of  shells, 
etc.,  etc.  This  subject  is  dealt  with  more  fully  further  on. 

It  is  not  possible  to  obtain  definite  data  as  to  the  number  of 
hands  employed  in  the  Irish  engineering  industry  at  the 
present  moment,  nor  the  amount  of  its  annual  wage-bill, 
but  the  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  throw  some  light 
on  its  dimensions  at  that  period.  The  following  particulars 
are  derived  from  this  source.  The  total  number  of  persons 
employed  in  Irish  engineering  factories  (including  cycle  and 
motor  factories)  in  1907  was  returned  as  5,968 — this  was 
exclusive  of  shipbuilding  yards  and  marine  engineering  works. 
The  total  value  of  the  output  and  work  done  was  returned 
as  £752,000.  Cost  of  materials  used,  and  amount  paid  to  other 
firms  for  work  given  out  to  them,  £342,000.  Value  of  output, 
less  cost  of  materials  used,  etc.,  £410,000. 

The  following  details,  taken  from  the  1907  Returns,  should 
be  read  in  conjunction  with  the  foregoing,  viz.  : — 


IRON    AND    STEEL    FACTORIES. 

SMELTING,    FOUNDING    AND    ROLLING. 

Value  of  Output  : 
Iron  Castings 
Cast  Iron  and  Manufactures  thereof 
Construction  of  Bridges,  Workshops,  etc.  .  . 
All  other  Products 

Total  Value  of  Output 
Cost  of  Materials  used 

Net  Value  of  Output 

£ 
42,000 
8,000 
1,000 
9,000 

£60,000 
27,000 

£33,000 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  these  industries 
was  returned  as  545,  made  up  as  follows,  viz. :  Wage 
Earners,  510  males  and  i  female ;  Salaried  Persons,  33  males 
and  i  female. 


COPPER   AND   BRASS   FACTORIES. 


SMELTING,    ROLLING    AND    CASTING. 


, 

Total  Value  of  Output          . .         . .         . .     29,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used  . .         . .     19,000 


Net  Value  of  Output  £10,000 


The  total  number  of  persons  employed  was  returned  as 
156,  made  up  as  follows :  Wage  Earners,  138  males ; 
Salaried  Persons,  16  males  and  2  females. 


BRASS   FACTORIES. 

FINISHED    GOODS. 

Total  Value  of  Output 
Cost  of  Materials  used 

Net  Value  of  Output 

£ 

.  .    39,000 
.  .    22,000 

.  .  £17,000 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed  was  returned  as 
256,  made  up  as  follows :  Wage  Earners,  228  males,  and  3 
females ;  Salaried  Persons,  23  males  and  2  females. 


TOOL  AND   IMPLEMENT   FACTORIES. 


£ 

Total  Value  of  Output         . .         . .         . .     18,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used         . .         . .         . .       8,000 


Net  Value  of  Output  £10,000 


SHIPBUILDING  AND  ENGINEERING      105 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed  was  returned  as 
148,  made  up  as  follows :  Wage  Earners,  144  males  and  2 
females ;  Salaried  Persons,  2  males. 


BLACKSMITHING  FACTORIES  AND  WORKSHOPS 


i 

Total  Value  of  Output         33,ooo 

Cost  of  Materials  used         . .         . .         . .-    21,000 


Net  Value  of  Output  £12,000 


The  total  number  of  persons  employed  was  returned  as  172, 
made  up  as  follows  :  Wage  Earners,  146  males  ;  Salaried 
Persons,  22  males  and  4  females. 

If  up-to-date  returns  were  available  it  would  be  found  that 
the  engineering  and  allied  trades  in  Ireland  have  made  a 
fair  amount  of  headway  during  the  past  thirteen  years. 
In  one  branch  alone,  that  of  motor  engineering,  a  considerable 
development  has  taken  place,  and  far  more  employment  is 
given  to  skilled  and  unskilled  workmen  in  this  branch  to-day 
than  was  given  at  the  date  of  the  last  returns.  The  progress 
of  these  trades  in  the  past  seventy  years  has  been  gradual, 
but  the  Irish  engineering  barometer  shows  a  steady  upward 
movement  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  and, 
if  current  signs  may  be  relied  upon,  it  is  highly  probable 
that  these  trades  will  progress  even  more  rapidly  in  the  next 
few  j'ears. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  IRISH  TEXTILE  GROUP 

I.      LINEN   AND   COTTON    INDUSTRIES 

THE  manufacture  of  linen  goods  is  divided  into  four 
main  processes,  viz.  :  (i)  Spinning  ;  (2)  Weaving  ; 
(3)  Bleaching  ;  (4)  Finishing. 

These  operations  are,  to  a  large  extent,  performed  in  separ- 
ate mills : 1  that  is  to  say,  certain  mills  specialize  in  spinning 
flax  into  linen  yarn,  others  in  weaving  the  yarn  into  piece- 
goods,  and  others  in  bleaching  and  finishing,  and  in  some  cases 
dyeing,  the  pieces.  Much  of  the  linen  when  finished  is  shipped 
abroad  in  rolls,  or  webs,  whilst  a  large,  if  not  larger,  quantity 
goes  into  the  making-up  departments  of  the  mills  and  to 
factories  which  specialize  in  this  work,  there  to  be  trans- 
formed into  handkerchiefs,  tea-cloths,  bed-spreads,  curtains, 
robes,  blouses,  and  other  articles.  The  embroidering  and 
inserting  of  lace  into  these  articles  is  done  by  (i)  out-workers 
in  their  own  homes,  (2)  North  of  Ireland  machine  embroidery 
industries,  and  (3),  before  the  war,  quantities  were  sent  to 
Switzerland  to  be  machine  embroidered.  Before  these  articles 
are  boxed  for  despatch  to  the  sellers  they  are  washed  and 
laundered,  and  this  sub-section  of  the  trade  gives  employment 
to  a  considerable  number  of  hands. 

In  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  Great  Britain  as 
well  as  Ireland  possessed  an  extensive  linen  industry.  The 
following  figures  show  the  comparative  rise  and  fall  of  the 
trade  in  the  three  countries  in  the  intervening  years  : — 

1  In  1915  the  number  of  power-looms  weaving  linen  in  Ireland, 
attached  to  flax  spinning  mills,  was  only  9,968,  whereas  the  number  in 
weaving  factories  was  26,856. 

106 


TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES 


107 


IRELAND. 

SCOTLAND. 

ENGLAND. 

Year. 

No.  of  Spindles. 

No.  of  Spindles. 

No.  of  Spindles. 

1850 

396,338 

303,I25 

265,568 

1856 

— 

— 

441,  ooo1 

1871 

896,482 

3i7.°852 

269,768 

1890 

840,448 

187,755 

106,610 

I9°5 

812,952 

160,085 

49.941 

1910 

935,4H 

160,000 

50,000 

igiS3 

955,926 

150,000 

33,000 

The  number  of  spindles  in  Ireland  in  1916  belonged  to  some 
fifty  different  companies — seventeen  of  them  in  Belfast,  four 
in  Drogheda,  Co.  Louth,4  one  in  Cork,  one  in  Dublin,  and 
the  others  scattered  throughout  Ulster. 

Mr.  Alfred  S.  Moore  tells  us  that  in  1853  there  were  in 
Ireland  80  flax  spinning  mills  yielding  linen  yarn,  containing 
500,000  spindles,  producing  yarn  per  year  worth  about 
£2,250,000  at  a  moderate  valuation.  In  1862,  the  second  year 
of  the  American  Civil  War,  there  were  in  Ireland  105  flax 
and  jute  factories,  employing  44,000  people.  The  number 
of  spindles  operating  was  estimated  at  594,805  and  the 
number  of  looms  engaged  was  estimated  at  4,666.  The  value 
of  the  linen  exported  from  Ireland  during  that  and  the  two 
succeeding  years  was  returned  as  : 


£ 

1862 

6,292,000 

1863 

8,084,000 

1864 

.  .    10,327,000 

1  This  figure  represented  England's  maximum. 

3  This  figure  represented  Scotland's  maximum. 

8  Owing  to  the  improvements  which  have  been  effected  in  linen 
spinning  machinery  the  production  per  individual  spindle  is  much 
greater  to-day  than  it  was  even  twenty  years  ago. 

4  Two  of  these  factories  were  obliged  to  close  down  some  years  ago. 
They  have  since  been  acquired  by  the  Irish  Packing  Co.,  Ltd.,  for  their 
dead-meat  trade. 


108  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

Two  years  later  it  fell  to  £9,576,245,  and  the  year  following 
to  about  £7,500,000. 

In  1861,  the  year  the  American  Civil  War  broke  out,  Ireland 
had  592,981  spindles  in  operation.  Ten  years  later  the 
number  had  increased  to  866,482,  but  in  1888  it  had  fallen 
to  803,000.  These  variations  are  explained  by  the  fact  that 
owing  to  the  shortage  of  supplies  of  raw  cotton  during  the 
period  of  the  American  War,  an  abnormal  demand  arose  for 
Irish  linens,  but,  Mr.  Moore  points  out : 

When  cotton  supplies  assumed  their  normal  proportions,  the 
demand  for  linen  goods  diminished,  and  for  the  next  thirty 
years  or  so  there  were  about  seven  lean  years  to  one  fat  one. 
No  fewer  than  thirty-six  spinning  mills  were  brought  to  insol- 
vency, or  at  least  to  such  financial  difficulty  that  eighteen  of  them, 
with  200,000  spindles,  ceased  to  exist.  Simultaneously,  the 
other  eighteen  mills  continued  under  new  owners  ;  but,  even  of 
these  eighteen,  six  have  changed  owners  twice,  while  one  of  the 
largest  mills  lived  through  a  long-protracted  crisis  in  so  crippled 
a  condition  that  it  was  unable  to  pay  any  dividend  to  the  share- 
holders during  twenty  consecutive  years. 

In  1910  there  were  in  Ireland  36,892  power-looms  for  weav- 
ing. These  were  owned  by  about  one  hundred  companies, 
and  were  distributed  throughout  the  country  as  follows  : 
21,000  looms  working  in  Belfast ;  13,000  in  other  parts  of 
Ulster ;  and  the  remainder  scattered  between  Dublin,  Cork, 
Dundalk,  and  Drogheda. 

In  the  same  year  there  were,  using  linen  yarn  : 

In  Scotland  17,000  power-looms:  In  England  4,400  power- 
looms. 

Sir  William  Crawford  gives  as  one  of  the  reasons  of  the  great 
displacement  of  the  linen  trade  in  favour  of  Ireland,  as  shown 
by  the  above  figures,  that  the  country  "  has  practically  this 
one  textile  industry  only,  whereas  England  and  Scotland  have 
others  which  have  allowed  of  a  higher  profit  and  the  payment 
of  a  higher  scale  of  wages."  Another  reason  responsible  for 
this  situation  is  that,  as  the  shipbuilding  and  allied  industries 
give  employment  to  many  thousands  of  males,  there  is  avail- 
able in  Belfast  a  large  female  population  which  is  chiefly 
absorbed  by  the  linen  industry,  in  which  the  ratio  of  workers  is 
two  or  three  females  to  one  male.  The  fact  that  the  male 
members  are  able  to  earn  comparatively  high  wages  resulted, 


TEXTILE   INDUSTRIES  109 

heretofore,  in  the  female  members  of  the  family  accepting 
a  lower  scale  than  prevailed  in  the  British  cotton  industry. 
The  mills  elsewhere  throughout  Ulster  are  nearly  all  situated 
in  districts  where  there  is  little  or  no  alternative  employment 
for  girls  and  women.  In  1910  Sir  Wm.  Crawford  estimated 
that  the  average  wage  paid  to  operatives  in  the  linen  industry 
in  Ireland  was  125.  6d.  per  week ;  in  1914,  Mr.  Alfred  S.  Moore 
estimated  that  it  had  risen  to  155.  per  week.  The  average 
wage  in  October,  1919,  was,  according  to  The  Board  of  Trade 
Labour  Gazette,  26s.  gd.  per  week. 

The  following  details  of  the  capital  employed  in  the  Irish 
linen  trade  were  compiled  by  Sir  Wm.  Crawford  in  1910  : — 


948,000  Spindles  at  average  price 

£5  each  . .  . .  . .  . .  4,740,000 

37,000  Power-looms  at  average  price 

£50  each 1,850,000 

Bleaching,  Printing  and  Finishing 

Works,  together  estimated  at  . .  750,000 


£7,340,000 

Stocks  of  Raw  Materials,  Goods  in 
the  Process  of  Manufacture  and 
in  a  Finished  State  £5,000,000  to  6,000,000 

Capital  employed  in  giving  Credit  to 

Buyers        . .         . .         . .         . .       2,000,000 


Say    £14,500,000 


He  also  estimated  that  in  the  year  1910  :  About  £75  was 
spent  in  turning  £100  of  flax  into  yarn,  about  £75  was  spent 
in  turning  the  yarn  into  brown  linen,  and  about  £50  was 
spent  in  turning  the  brown  linen  into  white  goods,  ready  for 
the  market.  "  Thus  on  £100  worth  of  flax  about  £200  is 
spent,  chiefly  in  wages,  and  the  finished  product  is  worth 
£300." 

A  further  interesting  estimate  which  he  made  was  : — 


110  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 


AMOUNT   PAID    IN   WAGES   TO    OPERATIVES   AND 
OTHERS    (YEAR    1910). 

67,027  Women  and  Young  Persons,  at 
I2s.  6d.  per  week 
Bleachers,  Printers  and  Finishers 
Embroiderers,  Hemstitchers,  and  Ware- 
house   Hands   (including  Lappers, 
Ornamenters,  and  Box-makers)   .  . 
Hand-loom  Weavers 
Clerks,  Managers  and  other  Officials  .  . 
5  per  cent,  on  Capital 

Total  distributed  annually 

£ 
2,178,377 
400,000 

400,000 

55,00° 
250,000 
700,000 

£3,983,377 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  flax  mills  and 
factories  in  Ireland  in  the  following  years  has  been  recorded 


as 


Year. 

No.  of  Persons 
Employed. 

Year. 

No.  of  Persons 
Employed. 

1839 

9,017 

1890 

64,475 

1850 

21,121 

1895 

66,113 

1861 

33,525 

1907 

67,027 

1862 

37,872 

1914 

73,000 

1885 

61,748 

1917 

90,000 

The  following  Return  of  the  quantity  and  value  of  the 
exports  from  Ireland  of  Irish  linen  yarn  and  linen  goods  gives 
an  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  this  trade.  The  reader  should 
bear  in  mind  that  prior  to  the  war  about  three-quarters  of 
the  total  quantity  of  the  linens  manufactured  in  Ireland  was 
sold  outside  of  the  United  Kingdom,  and  that  about  seventy 
per  cent,  of  this  export  was  to  the  United  States  of  America. 
The  values  set  out  below  are  somewhat  misleading  as  they 
stand,  owing  to  the  fact  that  prices  have  fluctuated  from 
time  to  time,  especially  during  recent  years,  when  they  have 
risen  considerably.  Therefore  the  quantity  is  the  safer 
index  to  the  volume  of  these  goods  exported. 


TEXTILE   INDUSTRIES 


HI 


RETURN   OF   EXPORTS    FROM    IRELAND    IN   THE 

FOLLOWING   YEARS. 

LINEN    YARN. 

LINEN    GOODS. 

Year. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  £. 

Quantity 
Cwts. 

Value  £. 

1908 

17,227,056 

1,148,470 

958,660 

8,508,107 

1909 

20,069,952 

1,233,466 

1,230,427 

11,996,663 

1910 

24,713,696 

1,596,093 

1,221,793 

13,342,998 

1911 

24,071,768 

1,629,859 

1,113,296 

12,584,884 

1912 

22,616,496 

1,625,561 

1,238,980 

14,005,636 

19*3 

23427,936 

1,732,691 

1,163,952 

14,112,918 

1914 

20,900,096 

1,480,423 

1,196,086 

14,353,032 

1915 

17,847,424 

1,487,285 

1,129,108 

14,904,226 

1916 

18,020,576 

2,027,315 

1,083,208 

16,248,120 

1917 

24,014,480 

3,OOI,8lO 

1,048,958 

23,916,242 

1918 

7,989,408 

1,323,246 

926,823 

32,438,805 

A  further  guide  to  the  growth  of  this  industry  in  modern 
times  may  be  derived  from  the  following  Return  :— 


SPINNING    MILLS. 

POWER-LOOM 

FACTORIES. 

Year. 

No.  Spindles 

No.  Looms 

Employed. 

Employed. 

1850 

396,000 

88 

1861 

592,981 

4,933 

1871 

866,482 

14,834 

1881 

879,242 

21,779 

1892 

846,642 

28,233 

1902 

841,604 

30,937 

1911 

945,962 

36,942 

1912 

942,604 

37,292 

19*3 

951,246 

37,335 

1914 

955,471 

37,293 

19*5 

951,942 

36,824 

1916 

952,092 

35,96i 

1917 

95LI58 

37>!76 

1918 

955,926 

37,38o 

112  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

Following  are  some  interesting  data  extracted  from  the 
Census  of  Production  Returns  for  the  year  1907.  These 
Returns  were  compiled  from  information  supplied  to  the 
Government  by  the  firms  engaged  in  the  industries  mentioned. 


VALUE   OF   OUTPUT. 


f, 
Linen  Yarn  and  Thread         . .         . .       5,488,000 

Cordage  Rope  and  Twine   (including 

Hemp  Yarn)  . .         . .          103,000 

Waste  for  Paper-making,  Felt-making, 

etc.  . .         . .         . .         . .  47,000 

Flax   and   Tow    (dressed)    and   other 

Products     . .         . .         . .         . .          135,000 

Linen    Piece-goods    (including    Hemp 
and  Union),  Plain,    Bleached  and 
Unbleached  . .         . .       4,063,000 

Fancy    (including    Checked,    Striped, 
Coloured    Damask,    Diaper,     or 
other  kinds  of  cloth  not  included 
under    Plain)         . .         . .         . .       2,020,000 

Waste  . .         . .         . .         . .  4,000 

Other  Products  and  Work  done       . .  6,000 


Total    Value          . .         . .         . .  £11,866,000 

£ 

Cost  of  Materials  used    . .     7,802,000 

Amount  paid  to  other  firms 
for    work    given    out 
to  them         . .         . .         67,000 
TOTAL  7,869,000 


Net  Value  of  Output  . .         . .     £3,997,000 


The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  above  indus- 
tries was  returned  as  67,992,  made  up  as  follows:  Wage 
Earners,  21,962  males  and  44,888  females ;  Salaried  Persons, 
1,066  males  and  76  females. 


TEXTILE   INDUSTRIES  113 

The  following  Returns  should  also  be  read  in  conjunction 
with  the  foregoing : — 


MAKING-UP    FACTORIES. 


ARTICLES     MANUFACTURED     FROM    LINEN     OR    UNION    CLOTH. 


£ 

Handkerchiefs — Plain                . .         . .  446,000 

,,                 Printed                       . .  150,000 

Household  Articles                   . .         . .  624,000 

Articles  of  Clothing                  . .         . .  18,000 
Other  Goods  made  and  Work  done  for 

the  Trade               27,000 


Total  Value  of  Goods  mdfle  and  Work 

done  £1,265,000 

£ 

Cost  of  Materials  used    . .  897,000 

Amount     paid    to    other 
firms  for  work  given 
out  to  them  . .         . .             47,000 
TOTAL  944,000 


Net  Value  of  Output  . .         . .      £321,000 


The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  above-men- 
tioned industries  was  returned  as  3,769,  made  up  as  follows  : 
Wage  Earners,  362  males  and  3,099  females ;  Salaried  Per- 
sons, 254  males  and  54  females. 


BLEACHING,    DYEING,    PRINTING   AND    FINISHING 
FACTORIES. 


I 

Value  of  Work  done  . .         . .     624,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used     . .         £214,000 
Amount  paid  to  other  firms  for 

work  given  out  to  them        12,000 

TOTAL  226,000 


Net  Value  of  Work  done  . .         . .  £398,000 


114  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  above-men- 
tioned industries  was  returned  as  5,767,  made  up  as  follows, 
viz.  :  Wage  Earners,  4,528  males  and  955  females ;  Salaried 
Persons,  264  males  and  20  females. 


FLAX   SCUTCHING   FACTORIES. 


£ 
The  total  Value  of  Output  was  returned  as    91,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used      . .         . .         . .       23,000 


Net  Value  of  Output         £68,000 


The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  this  industry  was 
returned  as  3,760,  made  up  as  follows,  viz.  :  Wage  Earners, 
2,641  males  and  1,080  females;  Salaried  Persons,  35  males 
and  4  females. 

From  the  year  1917  until  the  termination  of  the  war  the 
Irish  linen  industry  was  mainly  engaged  in  spinning  and  weav- 
ing linen  fabric  in  execution  of  Government  contracts  (chiefly 
aeroplane  cloth).  The  Ministry  of  Munitions  alone  placed 
contracts  for  this  cloth  with  Irish  firms  to  the  value  of 
£11,380,468,  chiefly  with  firms  in  the  Belfast  area. 

The  first  essential  to  the  success  of  the  linen  industry  is, 
of  course,  a  sufficient  supply  of  flax.  The  flax  used  in  Irish 
mills  in  pre-war  years  was  produced  chiefly  in  four  countries, 
namely,  Ireland,  Belgium,  Holland,  and  Russia.  At  that 
period  the  last-named  country  supplied  over  75  per  cent,  of 
the  total  flax  produced  in  Europe.  Mr.  J.  Milne  Barbour 
has  stated  that  only  about  one-eighth  of  the  flax  required  by 
British  and  Irish  spinners  was  grown  in  the  United  Kingdom. 
The  following  Table  shows  the  quantity  of  flax  imported  into 
Ireland  from  other  countries  within  recent  years  and  the 
quantity  grown  in  Ireland : — 


TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES 


115 


IMPORTED. 

GROWN    IN    IRELAND. 

Year. 

Tons. 

Value  £. 

Tons. 

Value  £. 

1908 

29,582 

1,381,479 

7,922 

404,022 

1909 

39.194 

1,912,667 

7,179 

409,203 

1910 

35,91! 

1,867,372 

8,876 

618,361 

1911 

32,055 

1,955,355 

II,24O 

769,940 

1912 

42,144 

2,416,956 

12,956 

842,140 

1913 

40,982 

2,300,115 

12,652 

727,490 

1914 

36,727 

2,031,003 

8,126 

602,678 

i9J5 

30,114 

2,430,200 

9,664 

1,265,845 

1916 

32,576 

3,047,484 

14,492 

2,685,851 

1917 

28,735 

4,278,642 

15,362 

3,277,227 

1918 

6,442 

966,300 

15,703 

3,873,407 

1919 

9,577 

Not  yet 

13,720 

Not  yet 

available 

available 

The  Table  inserted  below  shows  the  fluctuations  in  the  area 
under  flax  in  Ireland  in  modern  times. 


AREA  UNDER  FLAX  IN  IRELAND. 

Year. 

Acres. 

Year. 

Acres. 

Year. 

Acres. 

1853 

175,000 

1898 

34,469 

1910 

45,974 

I859 

136,000 

1900 

47,451 

1911 

66,618 

1860 

120,595 

10/31 

55,442 

1912 

55,o62 

1862 

I5O,OOO 

1902 

49,742 

1913 

59,305 

1864 

301,692 

1903 

44,685 

1914 

49,254 

1870 

194,893 

1904 

44,293 

19*5 

53J43 

1880 

157,534 

1905 

46,158 

1916 

9i,454 

1890 

96,871 

1906 

55,189 

1917 

107,705 

i«95 

95,202 

1907 

59,659 

1918 

143,355 

1896 

72,252 

1908 

46,916 

1919 

95,6io 

1897 

45,576 

1909 

38,110 

116  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

Prediction  is  not  one  of  our  functions,  therefore  we  shall 
express  no  opinion  as  to  the  wisdom  or  otherwise  of  the 
present-day  Irish  farmer  in  limiting  his  flax  crop  to  these 
figures.  If  his  action  is  based  on  the  experience  of  those  who 
moved  too  rapidly  at  the  earlier  period  we  have  alluded  to,1 
and  who,  when  cotton  supplies  recovered  their  footing  on  the 
market,  had  sad  reason  to  regret  their  impetuosity,  then, 
perhaps,  he  is  displaying  a  truer  wisdom  than  he  is  credited 
with  at  the  moment.  On  the  other  hand,  it  can  be  argued 
that  years  must  pass  before  the  supplies  of  foreign  flax, 
available  for  this  market,  will  reach  their  pre-war  level ; 
that  prices,  in  the  interim,  are  almost  certain  to  continue 
high  ;  that  with  the  opportunities  now  available  for  guid- 
ing the  grower  in  Ireland  in  procuring  the  best  possible 
results  from  this  crop,  he  has  an  unique  opportunity  of  secur- 
ing a  much  larger,  more  permanent,  more  profitable  share 
of  this  market  than  heretofore,  and  that  the  prosperity  of  the 
country,  as  well  as  of  the  Irish  linen  trade,  can  be  added  to 
considerably  by  extending  the  production  of  flax  in  Ireland.2 

A  branch  of  the  linen  industry  which  at  one  time  occupied 
an  important  position  is  that  of  hand-loom  weaving.  Owing 
to  the  vast  improvements  effected  in  the  power-loom  and  its 
products,  the  hand-loom  branch  of  the  trade  has  found  itself 
unable  to  withstand  the  weight  of  this  competition.  The 
fact  that  its  wages  bill  had  fallen  from  £220,000  in  1893  to 
£55,000  in  1914  is  striking  evidence  of  the  shrinkage  in  its 
output.  Mr.  Moore  tells  us  that : 

The  finest  class  of  work,  such  as  serviettes,  tablecloths,  d'oyleys, 
etc.,  of  the  purest  linen  yarn,  are  woven  by  hand  alike  in  factories 
and  in  the  cottage  homes  of  the  weavers.  .  .  .  The  factories  are 
generally  limited  to  the  weaving  of  damasks  and  wide  sheetings. 
...  In  the  Ballymena  district  hand-loom  weaving  is  somewhat 
extensive,  the  products  being  used  for  shirtings  and  known  in 
the  trade  as  Ballymenas. 

1  The  years  immediately  following  the  American  Civil  War. 

2  An  organized  effort  has  been  made  during  the  past  few  years  by  a 
group  of  business  men  to  extend  the  area  under  flax  in  the  Southern 
and  Midland  counties  of  Ireland.     This  has  met  with  a  fair  amount  of 
success.     This  year  another  group  have  begun  operations  in  Co.  Cork, 
and  anticipate  developing  an  extensive  flax-growing  industry  in  that 
country,  in  which,  it  is  claimed,  the  soil  and  climate  permit  of  the  finest- 
quality  flax  being  grown. 


TEXTILE   INDUSTRIES 


117 


In  the  year  1828  an  innovation  took  place  in  the  linen  trade. 
Instead  of  confining  themselves  solely  to  the  use  of  linen 
}\  jns  in  the  weaving  of  linen  goods,  some  Irish  manufacturers 
adopted  the  use  of  cotton  yarns  for  the  warp  and  linen  yarns 
for  the  weft  in  the  manufacture  of  the  cheaper  qualities  of 
certain  kinds  of  goods.  This  method  was  adopted  as  a  means 
of  competing  against  cotton  goods.  It  has  continued  on  an 
increasing  scale  in  the  intervening  years,  and  the  manufacture 
of  what  are  described  as  Unions  has  come  to  be  a  recognized 
and  important  branch  of  the  trade.  Whilst  this  is,  in  itself, 
a  perfectly  legitimate  business — the  manufacturer  describing 
such  goods  as  Unions — it  has  resulted,  to  a  certain  extent, 
in  unscrupulous  traders  often  selling  cotton  and  Union  goods 
to  the  unsuspecting  customer  as  pure  linen.  Prosecutions 
instituted  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical 
Instruction  for  Ireland,  and  the  Irish  Industrial  Development 
Association  (Incorporated),  have  had  a  useful  effect  in  check- 
ing this  unfair  practice,  but  a  customer  in  search  of  a  pure 
linen  article  would  be  well  advised  to  insist  upon  the  seller 
stating  in  writing,  upon  the  bill  or  receipt,  that  the  article 
purchased  is  pure  Irish  linen.  Should  any  doubt  remain  in 
the  mind  of  the  customer,  either  of  the  above  bodies  will 
gladly  test  the  purchase,  and  should  it  prove  to  be  spurious 
will,  at  their  own  expense,  prosecute  the  offender  for  having 
misdescribed  the  goods. 

The  following  table  shows  the  quantity  and  estimated 
value  of  cotton  yarn  imported  into  Ireland  during  the  years 
1904-18.  Much  the  larger  part  of  these  imports  entered  the 
port  of  Belfast : — 


RETURN  OF  IMPORTS  OF  COTTON  YARN  INTO  IRELAND  IN  THE 
YEARS  1904-18. 

Year. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  £. 

Year. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  £. 

1904 

14,031,472 

643,109 

1912 

13,979,616 

684,419 

1905 

15,099,280 

736,090 

1913 

901,712 

43,207 

1906 

14,142,912 

604,020 

1914 

920,416 

43,720 

1907 

15,621,200 

634.6II 

I9J5 

17.795.456 

963,921 

1908 

19,164,096 

846,414 

1916 

28,283,472 

2,180,184 

1909 

17,612,122 

880,606 

1917 

23,829,008 

2,978,626 

1910 

12,076,736 

578.678 

1918 

23,472,288 

4,938,961 

1911 

12,000,688 

612,535 

118  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

The  manufacture  of  linen  threads  is  carried  on  in  Ulster 
by  about  seven  firms  who  largely  specialize  in  this  branch 
of  the  trade,  and  their  output  of  threads  represents  a  consider- 
able proportion  of  the  total  trade  of  the  Irish  linen  industry. 
Four  of  them  are  members  of  the  world-famous  Linen  Thread 
Co.,  Ltd.,  the  Chairman  and  Managing-Director  of  which  is 
Mr.  J.  Milne  Barbour,  who  is  also  a  Director  of  the  oldest 
and  largest  of  the  Irish  concerns,  viz.,  Messrs.  Wm.  Barbour 
&  Sons,  Ltd.,  of  Hilden,  Co.  Antrim.  This  latter  firm  ranks 
as  the  pioneer  of  linen  thread  manufacture  in  Ireland,  having 
been  established  by  Mr.  John  Barbour,  a  native  of  Paisley, 
in  Scotland,  in  the  year  1784 — 136  years  ago.  At  the  present 
day  Messrs.  Barbour  employ  over  2,000  workpeople  in  their 
mills,  while  the  other  three  firms  referred  to  give  employment, 
jointly,  to  about  the  same  number  of  hands. 

Belfast  possesses  the  only  cotton  thread  mill  in  Ireland. 
It  is  owned  by  Messrs.  Hicks,  Bullick  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  and  was 
established  in  the  year  1876.  This  firm  has  the  distinction 
of  being  the  first  applicant  for  a  licence  to  use  the  Irish  Trade 
Mark. 

Following  is  a  Return  of  the  exports  of  thread  from  Ireland 
during  the  years  1904-18  : — 


Year. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  /. 

1904 

2,924,432 

365,554 

I9°5 

2,955-232 

369,404 

1906 

3,109,904 

466,486 

1907 

3,061,632 

535,786 

1908 

2,968,896 

358,742 

1909 

3,291,568 

397,731 

1910 

3,855>264 

481,908 

1911 

4,093,376 

537,256 

1912 

4,446,400 

574,327 

1913 

4,22I,6l6 

562,882 

1914 

4,120,928 

5I5,H6 

19*5 

5,743,808 

957,301 

1916 

5,522,272 

1,092,950 

1917 

5,338,704 

1,356,921 

1918 

3,524,864 

I,2IO,Ol6 

TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES  119 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  Ireland  possesses  a  Textile 
Testing  and  Conditioning  House.  The  address  is,  The 
Municipal  Technical  Institute,  Belfast.  Amongst  its  clients 
are  Boards  of  Guardians,  Asylum  Boards,  Corporations,  Flax 
Spinners,  Linen  Merchants,  Woollen  Manufacturers,  Linen 
Manufacturers,  Bleachers  and  Dyers ;  whilst  materials  for 
testing  are  also  received  from  Government  Departments  in 
London  and  from  public  bodies  and  manufacturers  in  Great 
Britain. 

Since  the  termination  of  the  war,  the  Irish  linen  industry 
has  experienced  a  period  of  slackness  ;  both  the  spinning  and 
weaving  branches  have  had  to  work  less  than  the  normal 
number  of  hours  per  week,  and  at  the  moment  of  writing 
it  seems  probable  that  the  output  must  be  still  further  cur- 
tailed. This  situation  is  due  to  the  shortage  of  flax  supplies. 
Not  alone  are  existing  supplies  far  below  the  requirements  of 
the  trade,  but  the  outlook  in  respect  to  future  supplies  is  very 
serious.  The  Government  controlled  the  Irish  flax  crop  for 
several  years  past,  including  the  1919  crop,  the  produce  being 
compulsorily  acquired  by  them.  The  control  prices  fixed  for 
the  1919  crop  of  Irish  fibre  were  :  Minimum  £280,  maximum 
£360  per  ton.  The  guaranteed  price  in  1918  was  £360  per 
ton.  At  the  time  of  writing  continental  flax,  which  has  a 
free  market,  is  fetching  up  to  £1,000  per  ton,  and  inferior 
quality  English  flax,  which  is  also  uncontrolled,  is  being  sold 
in  Belfast  at  £525  per  ton.  These  facts,  together  with  the 
contention  of  the  Irish  growers  that  when  they  deliver  con- 
signments of  the  1919  crop  the  fibre  is  graded  lower  than  its 
true  quality,1  thereby  reducing  the  price  which  they  contend 
they  are  entitled  to  receive,  may  be  accepted  as  an  explanation 
of  the  falling  off  in  the  acreage  under  this  crop  in  Ireland  in 
the  year  1919,  a  reduction  of  47,745  acres  as  compared  with 
1918,  or  33.3  per  cent.  less. 

This  condition  of  affairs  has  led  to  the  creation  of  an  Irish 
Flax  Producers'  Association, a  which  is  at  present  conducting 
an  energetic  agitation  on  behalf  of  its  members. 

1  The  total  amount  of  the  1919  Irish  flax  crop  purchases  under  control 
to  February  14,  1920,  was  7.963  tons.  The  quantities  in  tons  allo- 
cated to  various  grades  were  :  Grade  (i)  157,  (2)  550,  (3)  1,532,  (4) 
2»5°7.  (5)  2.°79.  (6)  846,  lower  grade,  292. 

a  The  objects,  inter  alia,  of  this  organization  are  : 

"  i.  To  demand  immediate  decontrol  of  flax. 


120  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  weaving  branch  of  the  linen  industry  has  been  severely 
hit  in  consequence  of  the  shortage  and  the  abnormally  high 
and  continually  increasing  cost  of  yarns.  The  shortage  has, 
necessarily,  reduced  output,  and  the  upward  tendency  in 
price  has  prevented  manufacturers  from  accepting  orders  for 
future  delivery,  as  it  is  impossible  to  determine  the  figures 
at  which  such  orders  could  be  profitably  undertaken. 

The  situation  has  been  eased  to  some  extent  by  the  factories 
resorting  to  the  manufacture  of  cotton  and  hempen  goods  on 
a  fairly  extensive  scale.  The  imports  of  cotton  yarns  into 
Belfast  have  increased  considerably  for  some  years  past,  and 
it  will  probably  be  found  that  the  1920  figures  will  far  exceed 
those  of  any  previous  year. 

Before  the  war  the  Irish  linen  industry  was  able  to  procure 
abundant  supplies  of  flax  at  a  low  figure,  wages  in  the  industry, 
as  we  have  shown,  ruled  very  low,  and  other  expenses  coinci- 
dent to  the  manufacture  and  marketing  of  linen  were  relatively 
normal.  To-day  the  industry  finds  itself  faced  with  a  present 
and  prospective  shortage  of  raw  material,  with  the  cost  of 
flax  vastly  increased,  the  average  wage,  though  by  no  means 
too  high,  has  risen  more  than  one  hundred  per  cent,  in  the  past 
ten  years,  freights  have  reached  abnormal  figures,  coal  is 
treble  its  pre-war  price,  and  all  other  expenses  which  it  is 
necessary  to  incur  in  conducting  a  linen  spinning  or  weaving 
industry  have  risen  far  above  those  ruling  in  pre-war  years. 
Further,  customers  throughout  the  world  have  accustomed 
themselves  to  the  use  of  linen  substitutes.  Cotton  goods 

"  2.  To  demand  freedom  of  export  and  the  removal  of  all  other 
unnecessary  restrictions  relating  to  handling  and  sale  of  flax. 

"3.  To  co-operate  with  the  Flax  Growers'  Associations  of  France, 
Belgium,  Holland  and  Russia. 

"4.  To  protect  and  assist  any  of  its  members  against  whom  persecu- 
tion of  any  kind  is  directed. 

"5.  To  extend  and  encourage  flax  production  throughout  Ireland. 

"  6.  To  organize  Flax  Producers  into  one  strong  representative  body. 

"  7.  To  formulate  and  put  into  operation  any  scheme  found  most 
advantageous  and  to  the  interests  of  Flax  Producers  in  the  marketing 
of  their  flax. 

"8.  To  establish  an  Information  Bureau  to  keep  members  fully 
advised  on  the  prices  and  production  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  to 
publish  regularly  current  quotations. 

"9.  To  agitate  for  legislation  making  it  a  penal  offence  (as  in  France) 
for  any  body  of  men  to  combine  for  the  purpose  of  restricting  prices 
payable  to  farmers." 


TEXTILE   INDUSTRIES  121 

have  been  brought  to  so  great  a  state  of  perfection  in  recent 
years  that  they  are  now  a  more  formidable  rival  of  linen  goods 
than  ever  before.  Japan  has  made  rapid  strides  in  capturing 
a  considerable  share  of  the  markets  of  the  East  for  her  cotton 
products.  In  1913  she  exported  £12,000,000  worth  of  cotton 
items  ;  by  1918  the  amount  had  advanced  to  £50,000,000. 
It  is  safe  to  assume  that  an  enterprising  country  such  as  Japan, 
with  an  endless  supply  of  cheap  labour  and  an  increasing 
mercantile  marine,  will  press  the  advantage  which  she  has 
acquired  to  its  utmost  limit.1  It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  linen  industry  is  not  confined  to  Ireland,  that  pre- 
war returns  showed  that  the  number  of  spindles  on  flax  abroad 
were  : — • 


France 

•  •     577,449 

Russia 

.  .     358,000 

Belgium 

.  .     329,5602 

Austria-Hungary 

.  .     296,833 

Germany 

.  .     287,009 

Italy 

.  .     126,080  —  on  flax  and 

hemp 

Holland  .. 

.  .     8,000 

Total: 

1,982,931  Spindles. 

1  The  present  number  of  spindles  at  work  on  cotton  in  Japan  is 
3.335.084  ;  orders  for  an  additional  instalment  of  1,500,000  spindles 
have  been  placed  in  foreign  countries,  and  a  project  is  on  foot  to  manu- 
facture spindles  in  Japan. 

The  countries  to  which  Japanese  cotton  textiles  are  chiefly  exported 
are  China,  British  India,  and  Russian  Asia. 
The  chief  items  of  export  during  1918,  were  : — 

YARDS 
Raw  Cotton  and  Raw  Sheeting  359,072,000 

Twilled  Cotton      235,469,000 

Imitation  Nankeens 77,421,000 

T.  Cloth     68,972,000 

Bleached  Calico  and  Bleached  Sheeting 59, 509,000 

Printed  Cotton 38,016,000 

a  In  January,  1920,  only  103,166  spindles  were  operating  out  of  a 
then  total  capacity  of  311,000  spindles.  Production  was  restricted 
through  lack  of  raw  material. 


122  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

In  1918  the  total  number  of  spindles  on  flax  in  Ireland  was 
stated  to  be  955,926,  and  for  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  com- 
bined 1,138,926.  Canada,  the  United  States,  and  Japan  also 
possess  some  flax  spinning  mills,  and,  since  the  war,  much 
encouragement  is  being  given  to  this  industry  as  well  as  to 
the  extension  of  the  local  flax  crop  in  Canada. 

There  is  still  another  factor  which  bears  with  considerable 
weight  upon  the  situation  under  consideration.  It  is  this. 
For  more  than  five  years  past  most  countries  throughout 
the  world  have  lived  beyond  their  means.  They  have  built 
up  huge  national  debts  which,  under  the  most  favourable 
circumstances,  cannot  be  wiped  out  in  the  lifetime  of  the 
present  generation.  To  enable  these  debts  to  be  reduced  at 
all  a  period  of  the  strictest  personal  economy  must  ensue. 
No  doubt  there  will  always  be  a  demand  for  high-priced  goods 
of  superior  quality,  but  it  is  inconceivable  that  the  demand 
will  be  as  widespread  for  many  years  to  come  as  it  was  hereto- 
fore. Therefore,  taking  all  these  factors  into  account,  it  is 
evident  that  the  task  which  confronts  Irish  linen  manu- 
facturers, in  reconstructing  their  industry,  is  one  of  more  than 
ordinary  magnitude,  it  is  improbable  that  the  industry  can 
for  very  many  years  to  come  recover  its  pre-war  dimensions, 
and  it  will  require  the  exertion  of  the  utmost  skill  and  enter- 
prise on  the  part  of  those  engaged  in  it  if  it  is  to  be  rescued  from 
its  present  perilous  position. 

A  list  of  the  trade  organizations  connected  with  this 
industry  will  be  found  in  Appendix  II  (see  pp.  296,  297). 


2.      THE    SHIRT   AND    COLLAR    INDUSTRY 

Factories  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  shirts  and  collars 
are  to  be  found  scattered  throughout  the  entire  country, 
but  the  chief  seat  of  this  industry  is  in  Londonderry,  where 
the  larger  proportion  of  the  factories  are  congregated. 

Mr.  Guy  P.  Morrish,  a  Director  of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  Welch, 
Margetson  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  of  Londonderry,  in  a  paper  read  at 
the  All-Ireland  Industrial  Conference,  held  in  Deny  in  1912, 
fixed  the  date  of  the  beginning  of  the  Londonderry  shirt- 
making  industry  as  1844,  whilst  the  year  1856  marked  the 
introduction  of  the  first  sewing  machine  to  the  city.  In  1912 


TEXTILE   INDUSTRIES  123 

there  were  twenty-six  firms  in  Deny  employed  in  making 
shirts  and  collars.  Mr.  Morrish  estimated  the  number  of 
workpeople  employed  at  that  date  as  7,000  in  the  factories 
and  10,000  outworkers  in  the  surrounding  districts.  Shirt 
Stations,  he  stated,  were  to  be  found  all  through  ^nnishowen 
(Co.  Donegal),  the  Gaudy  district  of  Londonderry,  Donemara, 
and  Strabane,  to  Newtownstewart,  in  Co.  Donegal. 

As  a  rule  white  shirts  are  not  made  throughout  in  the 
factory ;  the  fronts,  cuffs  and  neckbands  are  made  and  the 
bodies  are  hemmed,  and  then  all  the  parts  to  complete 
one  dozen  shirts  are  tied  together  in  a  bundle  with  the  neces- 
sary thread,  buttons,  labels,  and  a  ticket  giving  instructions 
regarding  the  making  and  price  to  be  paid  for  the  work. 
These  bundles  are  sent  to  the  country  to  be  made  up  by  the 
cottage  workers.  In  1912  over  £40,000  per  annum  was 
distributed  amongst  these  latter  workers.  Most  of  the  Deny 
factories  have  their  own  laundries  attached  to  their  works 
and  perform  the  dressing  of  their  manufactures  themselves. 
The  making  of  collars  is  done  entirely  in  the  factories,  as  is 
also  practically  all  coloured  shirt  making.  Mr.  Morrish 
estimated,  in  1912,  that  more  than  20,000,000  collars 
were  shipped  annually  from  Deny. 

The  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  gave  the  total 
value  of  the  output  of  Irish  shirt,  collar  and  cuff  factories  in 
that  year  as  £1,041,000. 

During  the  war  years  this  industry  was  mainly  engaged 
in  manufacturing  goods  for  the  War  Office  and  other  Govern- 
ment departments.  The  total  value  of  the  contracts  for 
shirts  placed  with  Irish  firms  by  the  War  Office  from 
August  4,  1914,  to  March  31,  1919,  amounted  to  £3,794,712. 
Since  the  termination  of  the  war  there  has  been  an  abnormal 
demand  for  shirts  and  collars  ;  the  output  of  the  Irish  factories 
has  kept  up  to  a  very  high  level,  and  efforts  have  been  made 
by  English  manufacturers  to  purchase  some  of  the  Deny 
factories.  A  few,  but  not  many,  of  these  have  changed  owner- 
ship. Wages  in  this  industry,  as  in  practically  all  others, 
have  risen  within  recent  years,  and  were  the  figures  available 
it  would  be  found  that  a  much  larger  amount  is  now  distri- 
buted annually  amongst  the  workpeople  than  was  distributed 
in  pre-war  years. 


124  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


3- 

The  manufacture  of  woollen  goods  is  divided  into  five 
main  processes,  viz.  :  (i)  Carding  or  combing  the  raw  wool, 
(2)  spinning  the  wool  into  yarn,  (3)  dyeing  the  yarn,  (4)  weav- 
ing the  yarn  into  cloth,  and  (5)  finishing  and  shrinking  the 
cloth. 

A  number  of  Irish  woollen  manufacturers  perform  all  these 
operations  within  their  own  four  walls  ;  others  buy  the  yarns 
they  require  and  only  perform  the  fourth  and  fifth  operations 
themselves,  whilst  all  Irish  woollen  manufacturers  purchase 
a  proportion  of  the  yarns  used  by  them  in  manufacturing 
cloth.  The  following  Table  of  the  Imports  of  Wool  Yarn 
into  Ireland  in  the  years  1904-18,  illustrates  this  fact : — 


Year. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  £. 

1904 

2,694,832 

269,483 

1905 

2,554,006 

244,759 

1906 

2,749,798 

274,960 

1907 

1,995,168 

195,260 

1908 

1,550,752 

155,075 

1909 

1.470,336 

148,565 

1910 

2,113,328 

215,736 

1911 

2,686,768 

279,872 

1912 

2,435,888 

253,738 

i9J3 

2,148,272 

228,254 

1914 

2,516,192 

188,327 

i9J5 

2,638,832 

250,958 

1916 

2,810,304 

362,998 

1917 

3,089,072 

501,974 

1918 

3,310,832 

717,347 

Yarns  used  in  the  manufacture  of  Irish  woollens  are  obtained 
from  the  following  sources,  viz.  :    (i)  Spun  in  Ireland  from 


TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES 


125 


Irish-grown  wool,  (2)  spun  in  Ireland  from  imported  wool,  and 
(3)  finished  yarn  imported  ready  for  weaving. 

Unfortunately,  Irish-grown  wool  is  of  a  texture  only  suitable 
for  conversion  into  homespuns,  blankets,  flannels,  friezes, 
and  the  coarser  qualities  of  cloth.  As  the  existing  mills  in 
Ireland  making  these  classes  of  goods  require  but  a  compar- 
atively small  quantity  of  this  product,  the  bulk  of  it  is 
exported,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  Return.  The  finer 
qualities  of  Irish  woven  cloths  are  produced  from  imported 
wools,  chiefly  Australian  : — 


TABLE   OF   EXPORTS   AND    IMPORTS   OF   RAW 

WOOL   FROM   AND    INTO    IRELAND. 

EXPORTS. 

IMPORTS. 

Year. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  £. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  £. 

1904 

11,406,528 

427,745 

3,489,583 

130,859 

1905 

10,707,862 

552,124 

2,678,368 

103,787 

1906 

11,714,772 

610,144 

3,347,058 

142,947 

1907 

12,908,573 

611,813 

3,624,320 

156,047 

1908 

I2,8ll,232 

407,024 

4,246,144 

165,246 

1909 

17,714,256 

747,320 

4,284,448 

169,593 

1910 

14,091,840 

631,197 

4,794,160 

204,751 

1911 

13,305.208 

575,173 

4,510,576 

187,941 

1912 

17,673,600 

773,220 

4,372,144 

182,173 

19*3 

10,231,312 

5n,566 

4,333,952 

185,096 

1914 

16,367,232 

860,985 

4,304,608 

188,327 

1915 

10,175,536 

741,966 

5,475,456 

250,958 

1916 

10,322,928 

709,701 

4,904,928 

296,339 

1917 

14,597,856 

1,094,839 

2,727,536 

215-930 

1918 

12,974,752 

1,092,042 

1,959,216 

177,146 

Wool  exported  from  Ireland  gives  employment  to  many 
workpeople  elsewhere,  converting  it  into  yarn,  and  the  profits 
accruing  therefrom  are  lost  to  this  country.  This  loss,  and 


126  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

that  arising  from  the  importation  into  Ireland  of  such  large 
quantities  of  manufactured  yarn,  is,  in  the  main,  unnecessary. 
If  a  spinning  mill  on  a  fairly  large  scale  were  established  here 
to  spin  woollen  and  worsted  yarns,  sufficiently  capitalized, 
and  under  the  control  of  a  skilled  manager,  there  is  no  reason 
why  it  should  not  prove  a  thoroughly  profitable  undertaking. 
This  is  a  branch  of  industry  which  offers  a  first-class  opening 
for  the  investment  of  Irish  capital  provided  the  conditions 
mentioned  are  complied  with.  The  amount  of  yarn  manu- 
factured from  imported  wool  in  Irish  woollen  mills  is  by  no 
means  a  set-off  against  the  amount  of  manufactured  yarn 
imported  into  this  country.  A  comparison  of  the  figures 
in  the  preceding  Returns  will  demonstrate  the  truth  of  this 
statement. 

There  are  no  reliable  data  showing,  in  detail,  the  changes 
that  have  taken  place  in  the  Irish  woollen  industry  in  modern 
times,  but  the  following  fragmentary  information  may  help 
the  reader  to  form  some  idea  of  the  progress  that  has  been 
made. 

In  1856  there  were  twenty-seven  woollen  and  six  worsted 
mills  operating  in  Ireland  ;  by  1863  these  numbers  had 
changed  to  thirty-nine  and  three  respectively.  In  other 
words,  there  had  been  a  total  increase  of  nine  mills  within 
seven  years.  This  development  was,  no  doubt,  due  to  the 
increased  demand  for  woollens  resulting  from  the  American 
Civil  War. 

A  Report  of  the  Inspector  of  Factories,  dated  October  31, 
1865,  contains  a  passage  which  is  worthy  of  being  quoted,  as 
it  sheds  some  light  on  the  then  condition  of  the  industry. 

He  stated  : 

I  am  glad  to  notice  improvements  in  the  woollen  manufacture. 
New  machinery  is  being  introduced  on  all  sides,  and  a  considerable 
trade  in  tweeds  is  springing  up.  One  firm  has  been  executing 
orders  for  England,  and  it  is  represented  that,  if  mills  on  a  large 
scale  were  established  there  would  be  a  good  foreign  trade.  At 
present  the  mills  are  only  able  to  undertake  small  orders,  and 
these  chiefly  for  home  markets.  There  are  many  large  mills 
in  all  parts  of  Ireland,  built  for  corn  grinding,  now  standing 
idle  in  consequence  of  the  diminished  growth  of  grain,  and 
admirably  suited  for  manufacturing  purposes.  Some  are  well 
suited  for  communication  with  the  coast  and  by  railways,  and 
are  offered  at  low  rents.  Labour  is  cheap,  and  work  plentiful. 


TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES 


127 


Capital  is  the  only  thing  wanted.  But  there  appears  little 
enterprise  in  this  country,  and  even  limited  liability  does  not 
stimulate  the  growth  of  companies  here.  It  has  been  suggested 
to  me,  that  if  the  cloth  of  the  Constabulary  was  offered  to  Irish 
manufacturers  it  would  encourage  the  trade  greatly.  /  am  afraid 
this  is  against  the  laws  of  political  economy,  and  quite  an  exploded 
fashion  of  fostering  a  trade  ;  but  if  practicable,  it  might  call  into 
being  mills  and  machinery  which  would  have  plenty  of  work 
afterwards  ;  and  it  seems  generally  admitted  that  some  extra 
encouragement  is  required  in  this  country  for  the  employment 
of  the  poor.  From  the  very  favourable  reports  I  hear  of  the 
woollen  trade,  I  think  it  may  yet  be  very  greatly  extended.  It 
was  once  the  trade  of  the  country,  and,  as  it  appears  to  me,  the 
natural  one. 


In  the  year  1899,  the  number  of  woollen  mills  in  Ireland 
was  stated  to  be  82,  employing  3,443  persons  ;  in  1902 
the  number  had  increased  to  114,  whilst  the  number  of  persons 
employed  had  fallen  to  3,323.  The  Census  of  Production 
Returns,  1907 — the  latest  published — contain  the  following 
information  regarding  the  number  of  persons  employed  in 
this  industry  in  Ireland  in  that  year,  viz.  : — 


MALES. 

FEMALES. 

Under  18 
years  of 
age 

Over  1  8 
years  of 
age 

Total. 

Under 
18 
years 
of  age 

Over 
18 
years 
of  age. 

Total. 

Wage 
Earners 
Salaried 

244 

1,247 

1,491 

314' 

£3* 

i,37° 

1,684 

Persons 

5 

145 

150 

I  ";S 

15 

16 

Total 

249 

1,392 

1,641 

315 

1,385 

1,700 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  Table  that  the  total  number  of 
persons  employed  in  the  industry  at  that  date  was  3,341,  an 
increase  of  eighteen  as  compared  with  five  years  earlier. 


128   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

This  Return  also  contains  the  following  particulars  concerning 
the  Irish  woollen  trade  in  the  year  1907,  viz.  :  Value  of 
output,  £607,000 ;  cost  of  materials  used,  £403,000 ;  Net 
value  of  output,  £204,000. 

In  the  early  months  of  1914  a  slump  in  the  demand  for 
Irish  woollens  was  commencing  to  be  felt,  but  the  outbreak 
of  war,  at  the  end  of  July,  created  so  great  a  demand  for  all 
descriptions  of  textile  goods  that  Irish  woollen  mills,  in 
common  with  those  elsewhere,  were  soon  afterwards  engaged 
to  the  maximum  of  their  capacity.  The  bulk  of  the  demand 
was  for  Government  contracts,  and  as  supplies  of  raw  material 
were  limited,  the  latter  were,  after  a  short  time,  commandeered 
by  the  Government  and  rationed  to  the  manufacturers. 
Firms  engaged  in  producing  woollen  goods  in  execution  of 
Government  contracts  had  allocated  to  them  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  wool,  or  yarn,  to  enable  them  to  complete  these 
contracts,  but  only  very  small,  if  any,  supplies  were,  during 
the  latter  years  of  the  war,  allotted  to  Irish  manufacturers  for 
use  in  manufacturing  goods  for  civil  requirements.  At  the 
time  of  writing,  Government  control  of  many  kinds  of  wool 
has  been  removed,  competition  for  the  available  supplies 
of  this  commodity  is  keen,  and  prices  have  soared  to  very 
high  figures  compared  with  those  which  obtained  in  pre-war 
years. 

For  a  number  of  years  prior  to  the  war,  Irish  woollen  manu- 
facturers had  secured  a  firm  hold  of  the  home  market.  This 
was  due  to  the  improved  quality  of  their  goods  and  the 
awakened  public  conscience  here,  brought  about  by  the  activi- 
ties of  the  Irish  industrial  movement.  They  had  also  extended 
their  export  trade,  a  satisfactory  proportion  of  the  output 
being  sent  to,  amongst  other  countries,  Great  Britain,  the 
United  States  of  America,  China,  India,  Canada,  Australia, 
France,  and  the  Argentine. 

The  quantity  and  estimated  value  of  woollen  goods 
exported  from  Ireland  during  the  years  1904-18  was  as 
follows  : — 


TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES 


129 


TABLE  OF  EXPORTS  OF  WOOLLEN  GOODS. 

Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

Value  £. 

1904 

21,699 

363,358 

I9°5 

21,369 

365,054 

1906 

20,635 

364,036 

1907 

20,607 

384,836 

1908 

25,779 

468,103 

1909 

28,804 

523,033 

1910 

32,383 

617,436 

igil 

31,706 

604,528 

1912 

36,218 

690,557 

1913 

3L44I 

629,344 

1914 

33,922 

678,440 

1915 

47,807 

1,051,754 

1916 

49,891 

1,373,250 

1917 

66,860 

2,231,453 

1918 

47,934 

1,999,646 

The  hand-loom,  or  cottage  industry,  has  fought  hard  to 
retain  its  once  comparatively  flourishing  trade,  but  circum- 
stances have  proved  too  strong  for  it,  and  its  output  has 
considerably  declined.  This  trade  still  continues  to  a  limited 
extent  and  has  its  chief  centre  in  the  County  Donegal. 
Homespun  goods  are  also  made  in  a  lesser  degree,  partly  for 
use  by  the  families  of  the  weavers,  in  parts  of  Kerry,  Co. 
Cork,  Connemara  and  Mayo.  The  competition  of  the  power- 
loom,  emigration,  the  making  of  lace,  embroidery,  as  well  as 
hand  and  machine  knitting  in  the  cottages  of  the  country 
folk,  have  each  at  various  periods,  directly  and  indirectly, 
affected  this  industry.  Some  years  ago  a  number  of  weavers 
in  Donegal  resorted  to  the  use  of  inferior  machine-spun  yarn, 
and  in  this  way  reduced  the  quality  of  their  fabrics.  Never- 
theless, Ireland — Donegal  principally — still  produces  a 

9 


130  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

quantity  of  first-quality  homespun  and  home-woven  woollen 
cloth,  and  no  finer  material  of  its  kind  is  obtainable  anywhere. l 
I  am  indebted  to  the  Congested  Districts  Board  for  Ireland 
for  the  following  statement  of  the  annual  value  and  classes 
of  yarn  produced  in  Donegal,  so  far  as  such  information  is 
available  from  the  Board's  records. 


RETURN  OF  TWEEDS  SOLD  AT  ARDARA,  CO.  DONEGAL, 

TWEED  FAIRS. 

Year.2 

Homespun 
Warp  and 
Weft. 

Homespun 
Weft. 
No.  of 

Mill  Warp 
and  Weft. 
No.  of 

Total 
No.  of 
Webs. 

Estimated 
Value 
/ 

No.  of  Webs. 

Webs. 

Webs. 

i' 

1907 

_ 

._ 

_ 

1,341 



1908 

— 

— 

— 

1,476 



1909 

— 

— 

— 

2,438 



1910 

— 

— 

— 

3,287 

1,350 

1911 

— 

— 

— 

3,639 

7,610 

1912 

— 

— 

— 

2,580 

n,439 

19*3 

— 

— 

— 

3,154 

14,255 

1914 

— 

— 

— 

I.I44 

5,023 

I9X5 

— 

— 

— 

1,515 

6,398 

1916 

— 

— 

— 

3,040 

17,792 

1917 

— 

— 

— 

2,649 

24,486 

1918 

58 

2,449 

1,505 

4,OI2 

48,333 

1919 

34 

2,178 

549 

2,761 

57,i86 

April  to 

July,i9i9 

16 

1,257 

170 

i,443 

22,224 

1  Owing  to  the  abnormal  demand  for  every  kind  of  woollen  cloth, 
there  has  been  a  mild  revival  in  the  manufacture  of  Home-spuns 
during  the  past  year,  especially  in  Connemara,  and  hundreds  of  addi- 
tional spinning-wheels  have  been  operating.     The  makers  of  these 
wheels  have  been  unable  to  cope  with  the  demand. 

2  The  periods  are  the  twelve  months  ended  March  3ist  of  each  of 
the  years  mentioned. 


TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES 


131 


RETURN  OF  TWEEDS  SOLD  AT  CARRICK,  CO.  DONEGAL, 

TWEED  FAIRS. 

Year. 

Homespun 
Weft. 
No.  of  Webs. 

Total  No.  of 
Webs  Sold. 

Estimated  Value. 
f, 

1907 

_ 

537 

1,963 

1908 

— 

565 

2,601 

1909 

— 

927 

4,184 

1910 

— 

1,507 

8,122 

igil 

— 

i,349 

6,942 

1912 

— 

1,023 

4,655 

1913 

— 

820 

3,869 

1914 

— 

232 

1,018 

1915 

— 

65 

296 

1916 

255 

275 

i,455 

1917 

193 

202 

1,646 

1918 

350 

350 

5,210 

1919 

342 

342 

6,660 

April  to 

July,  1919 

— 

no 

1,865 

One  of  the  reasons  why  the  products  of  Irish  woollen  mills 
are  able  to  hold  their  own  in  competition  with  those  made 
elsewhere  is  that  cotton  or  shoddy  yarn  are  rarely  used  in 
their  manufacture.  Generally  speaking,  Irish  cloths  can  be 
relied  upon  as  having  been  made  solely  from  pure  wool 
yarns.  Prior  to  the  war  Irish  firms  used  the  finest  quality 
of  dyes,  and  fast  colours  invariably  resulted.  During  recent 
years  the  dyes  obtainable  were  inferior  to  those  of  German  or 
Swiss  manufacture,  and  the  makers  were  unable,  as  a  rule, 
to  guarantee  the  fastness  of  the  colours. 

Following  is  a  list  of  some  of  the  Irish  woollen  products 
produced  at  the  present  day :  Blankets  and  flannels, 
cheviots,  ladies'  dress-cloths,  friezes,  real  homespuns  and 
factory-made  homespuns,  knitted-wools,  motor  dress 
materials,  overcoatings,  travelling  and  carriage  rugs,  flannel 
and  flannelette  shirtings,  suitings,  trouserings,  vestings, 


132  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

woollen  and  worsted  yarns,  worsteds,  and  woollen  cloths  of 
practically  every  description. 

So  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain  there  are,  at  present, 
about  eighty-five  woollen  mills  in  Ireland  using  power-looms. 
No  reliable  figures  are  obtainable  to  show  the  number  of  looms 
operating,  the  number  of  hands  employed,  nor  the  annual 
wage-bill  of  this  industry. 

The  mills  are  situated  in  the  following  districts,  viz.  : 
Abbeyfeale  (Co.  Kerry)  ;  Ardara  (Co.  Donegal)  ;  Ardfinnan 
(Co.  Tipperary)  ;  Athlone  ;  Avoca  (Co.  Wicklow)  ;  Bailie- 
borough  (Co.  Down)  ;  Ballinakill  (Queen's  Co.)  ;  Bally- 
glunin  (Co.  Galway)  ;  Ballymena  (Co.  Antrim)  ;  Ballymore- 
Eustace  (Co.  Kildare)  ;  Bantry  (Co.  Cork)  ;  Beaufort  (Co. 
Kerry) ;  Belfast ;  Blarney  (Co.  Cork)  ;  Boyle  (Co. 
Roscommon)  ;  Caledon  (Co.  Tyrone)  ;  Carrick  (Co.  Donegal)  ; 
Castlebar  (Co.  Mayo)  ;  Castleblayney  (Co.  Monaghan)  ; 
Castlederg  (Co.  Tyrone ;  CastlepoUard  (Co.  Westmeath)  ; 
Clifden  (Co.  Galway)  ;  Coleraine  (Co.  Londonderry)  ;  Convoy 
(Co.  Donegal)  ;  Collooney  (Co.  Sligo)  ;  Cork  ;  Crumlin  (Co. 
Antrim)  ;  Dripsey  (Co.  Cork)  ;  Dingle  (Co.  Kerry);  Douglas 
(Co.  Cork)  ;  Drogheda  (Co.  Louth)  ;  Dublin  ;  Dungarvan 
(Co.  Waterford)  ;  Emyvale  (Co.  Roscommon)  ;  Enniscorthy 
(Co.  Wexford)  ;  Fermony  (Co.  Cork)  ;  Ferns  (Co.  Wexford)  ; 
Foxford  (Co.  Mayo)  ;  Galway ;  Glanworth  (Co.  Cork)  ; 
Kenmare  (Co.  Kerry)  ;  Kilkenny ;  Kilmathomas  (Co. 
Waterford)  ;  Kilmeaden  (Co.  Waterford)  ;  Kilrush  (Co. 
Clare)  ;  Midleton  (Co.  Cork)  ;  New  Ross  (Co.  Wexford)  ; 
Oldcastle  (Co.  Meath)  ;  Rathmore  (Co.  Kerry)  ;  Six-mile- 
bridge  (Co.  Clare)  ;  Tipperary ;  Tralee  (Co.  Kerry)  ;  and 
Westport  (Co.  Mayo). 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  this  industry  is 
scattered  throughout  the  entire  country.  Most  of  the  mills, 
however,  are  small ;  the  number  of  workpeople  employed  by 
the  smaller  mills  is  not  considerable,  and  their  joint  annual 
output  of  goods  would  not  amount  to  more  than  that  of  the 
combined  output  of  the  few  larger  mills. 

If  we  take  the  Census  of  Production  figures  of  1907  as  a 
guide,  we  find  that  at  that  period  the  whole  Irish  woollen 
and  worsted  industry  employed  3,341  persons — male  and 
female — and  that  the  gross  value  of  its  output  was  only 
£607,000.  Let  us  presume  that  since  then  it  has  increased  its 
number  of  workpeople  by  twenty-five  per  cent. — this  is,  I 


TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES  133 

think,  a  fair  estimate — that  would  give  the  number  now 
employed  as  4,176.  The  obvious  conclusion  we  are  forced 
to  arrive  at  from  these  data  is,  that  the  development  in  this 
industry  has  been  very  slow  :  the  entire  number  of  persons 
employed  hi  it  equals  about  one-fifth  of  the  number  of  men 
employed  in  one  Belfast  shipyard,  and  the  entire  wage-bill 
of  the  industry  is  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  wage-bill  of  that 
one  firm.  This  it  must  be  admitted  is  a  very  disappointing 
picture  of  what  we  are  accustomed  to  describe  as  one  of  our 
staple  industries.  Allowing  for  the  set-backs  which  befell 
the  industry  in  earlier  years — through  no  fault  of  its  own — 
there  is  no  evidence  to  justify  us  in  arguing  that  it  has  been 
prevented  from  progressing  more  rapidly  in  recent,  pre-war, 
years.  Several  Irish  woollen  manufacturers  have  displayed 
commendable  enterprise  in  consistently  extending  their 
plant  and  keeping  it  up-to-date,  but  one  has  only  to  examine 
the  various  tables  inserted  herein  to  realize  that  the  total 
expansion  of  the  industry  has  fallen  far  short  of  its  possible 
development.  The  manufacture  of  woollens  is  an  hereditary 
craft  in  Ireland  ;  there  is  no  great  difficulty  in  procuring  and 
training  additional  hands,  and  this  industry,  in  modern  times, 
has  been  particularly  free  of  labour  unrest.  The  Inspector 
of  Factories,  from  whose  report  I  have  already  quoted,  stated, 
in  1865,  that  capital  is  the  only  thing  wanted.  This  need  is 
not  felt  by  the  larger  Irish  mills  to-day,  they  being  able  to 
finance  their  businesses  without  any  difficulty,  but  the  smaller 
ones  are,  no  doubt,  prevented  from  increasing  their  plant, 
keeping  it  up-to-date,  and  extending  their  output,  because  of 
the  limited  capital  they  possess.  There  is  no  positive  reason 
why  the  Irish  woollen  industry  should  not  expand  immeasur- 
ably beyond  its  present  limit.  But  to  attain  this  result  it 
is  necessary  that  those  engaged  in  it  should  co-operate  much 
more  closely  than  they  did  in  pre-war  years.  It  was  only  a 
few  years  ago  that  an  Irish  Woollen  Manufacturers'  Associa- 
tion was  established,  but  since  its  inception  it  has  performed 
very  valuable  work  for  the  trade.  Competing  as  they  do 
against  highly  organized  external  rivals,  it  is  imperative  that 
Irish  woollen  manufacturers  should  organize  in  such  a  way 
as  to  derive  the  utmost  fraction  of  value  out  of  their  mills. 
By  a  mutual  arrangement  it  should  be  possible  to  adopt  a 
system  of  specialization  in  regard  to  their  manufactures. 
Instead  of,  as  heretofore,  one  Irish  mill  producing  small 


134  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

quantities  of  as  many  varieties  and  patterns  of  goods  as  a 
number  of  Yorkshire  mills  combined,  and  so  wasting  valuable 
time  in  designing  and  in  continually  re-arranging  their 
machines,  a  considerable  economy  in  time,  labour,  and  money, 
would  result  if  the  machines  in  each  mill  were  kept  occupied 
for  a  whole  season  in  producing  a  smaller  number  of  patterns 
of  goods,  increased  production  would  be  effected,  more  perfect 
fabrics  would  be  produced,  and  if  the  mills  also  adopted 
a  joint  system  of  marketing  their  goods  throughout  the 
world  their  businesses  should  flourish  to  an  extent  far  in  excess 
of  that  experienced  heretofore.  Without  combination  and 
expert  organization  there  is  little  possibility  of  this  trade 
progressing  much  beyond  its  present  limit,  and  failing  these 
essentials  there  is  a  serious  danger  that  it  may  be  left  so  far 
behind  in  the  industrial  march  that  in  time  it  may  again 
decline.  In  a  paper  read  at  the  Irish  Technical  Congress, 
at  Killarney,  in  the  year  1914,  Dr.  J.  F.  Crowley  pointed 
out  that  the  percentages  of  operatives  in  the  woollen  and 
worsted  trade  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  were  : 


West  Riding  of  Yorkshire  . .  72.0  per  cent. 

Parts  of  Lancashire  . .         . .       4.9        „ 

Worcester,      Leicester,      Gloucester, 

Somerset,     Wilts    and    Wales      3.1 

Scotland         . .         . .         . .         . .  n.i        ,, 

Ireland  1.6 


The  newer  mills  established  in  Ireland,  and  those  of  the  older 
ones  that  have  adopted  up-to-date  methods,  have  had  no 
reason  to  regret  their  enterprise.  Consequently,  it  must  be 
presumed  that,  if  properly  managed,  Irish  woollen  mills  are 
profit-making  concerns.  The  industry  is  one  naturally 
suited  to  the  country,  but,  as  we  have  already  stated,  if  it  is 
to  expand  to  anything  like  its  capable  extent  the  conserva- 
tive, early-Victorian,  ideas  of  so  many  of  its  members  must 
be  scrapped  without  delay,  organization  on  the  most  up-to- 
date  lines  must  be  adopted,  closer  working  arrangements 
between  the  various  firms  must  be  entered  into,  and  a  far 
keener  spirit  of  enterprise  must  be  displayed.  There  are 


TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES 


135 


plenty  of  new  markets  waiting  to  be  captured,  and  Irish 
hands  are  capable  of  producing  the  goods ;  all  that  is  necessary 
is  that  the  opportunity  should  be  given  to  them  of  doing  so. 


4.   THE  ROPE  AND  TWINE  INDUSTRY 

A  number  of  Irish  firms  are  engaged  in  manufacturing 
ropes  and  twines  of  practically  every  description.  This  is 
an  industry  in  which  Irish  makers  can  justly  claim  to  excel. 
Several  small  factories  are  dotted  throughout  the  country, 
but  the  chief  centre  of  the  industry  is  in  Belfast.  One  firm 
there  employs  between  three  and  four  thousand  workpeople, 
and  manufactures  3,500  different  sizes  and  descriptions  of 
ropes,  lines  and  twines,  including  rope-cables,  fine  fishing- 
lines,  binder  twine,  tarred  ropes,  and  fishing-nets. 

The  following  Table  illustrates  the  extent  of  Ireland's  export 


ROPE,  CORDAGE,  &  TWINE  EXPORTED 

FROM    IRELAND. 

Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

Value  £. 

1904 

188,977 

239.371 

1905 

205,026 

246,031 

1906 

230,052 

290,441 

1907 

223,951 

422,707 

1908 

223,574 

408,023 

1909 

220,123 

401,724 

1910 

234,521 

453,407 

1911 

241,008 

439.840 

1912 

233,526 

447.592 

i9J3 

249,069 

553,141 

1914 

264,990 

569,729 

*9*5 

266,424 

579.472 

1916 

274,347 

866,479 

1917 

292,796 

1,093,105 

1918 

278,788 

1,477.576 

136  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

trade  in  these  commodities,  and  the  reader  should  remember 
that  the  home  market  also  consumes  a  vast  quantity  of 
these  Irish-made  goods. 


5.      THE   HOSIERY   INDUSTRY 

No  definite  data  are  available  to  illustrate  the  progress  as 
a  whole  of  this  industry,  but  from  the  present  writer's  personal 
knowledge  it  is  possible  to  state  that  it  has  advanced  satis- 
factorily in  the  past  fifteen  years.  The  old  system  of  the 
female  members  of  a  household  hand-knitting  socks  and 
stockings  for  the  family  has  been  superseded  by  the  factory 
machine-knit  article.  The  latter  is  now  so  well  produced, 
and,  in  normal  times,  retails  at  so  reasonable  a  price,  that  it  is 
the  exception  to  meet  with  hand-knit  goods  of  this  sort. 
However,  the  Irish  hand-knitting  industry  is  by  no  means 
dead.  The  demand  in  recent  years  for  sports  coats,  jumpers, 
and  such-like  goods  has  given  a  considerable  impetus  to  this 
industry,  with  the  result  that  several  thousands  of  girls  and 
women — chiefly  in  Co.  Donegal — are  employed  in  their  own 
homes  making  these  garments.  The  factory  section  of  the 
industry  has  considerably  increased  its  output  of  high-class 
machine-made  underwear,  whilst  some  factories  engage 
entirely  in  this  branch  of  the  trade. 

The  principal  districts  in  which  the  machine-knitting  of 
hosiery  is  carried  on  are  :  Balbriggan  (Co.  Dublin)  ;  Bandon 
(Co.  Cork)  ;  Bray  (Co.  Wicklow)  ;  Belfast ;  Blackrock  (Co. 
Dublin)  ;  Carlow  ;  Cork  ;  Dungloe  (Co.  Donegal)  ;  Limerick  ; 
Lisburn  (Co.  Antrim)  ;  Londonderry ;  Longford ;  New- 
townards  (Co.  Down)  ;  Newtownsmith  (Co.  Galway)  ; 
Portadown  ;  Sligo  ;  Tralee  (Co.  Kerry),  and  Wexford.  In 
addition  to  these  there  are  a  large  number  of  small 
knitting  industries  scattered  throughout  the  country. 

The  greater  proportion  of  the  hosiery  made  in  Ireland  is 
absorbed  by  the  home  market,  but  Returns  show  that  the 
following  quantities  were  exported  in  the  years  mentioned 
in  accompanying  table : — 


TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES 


137 


HOSIERY  EXPORTED  FROM  IRELAND. 

Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

Value  £. 

1904 

2,525 

36,350 

I9°5 

2,750 

39,268 

1906 

2,784 

40,925 

1907 

2,555 

33,034 

1908 

3,651 

43,995 

1909 

3,445 

47,886 

1910 

4,668 

66,519 

1911 

4,569 

65,108 

1912 

4,158 

60,741 

19*3 

3,528 

.    54,096 

1914 

4,944 

79,598 

19*5 

7,138 

126,343 

1916              11,460 

223,088 

1917              14,343 

300,127 

1918 

16,906 

353,758 

6.      THE    POPLIN    INDUSTRY 

The  poplin  industry  has  succeeded  in  retaining  a  firm  foot- 
ing in  Ireland  despite  the  many  vicissitudes  through  which  the 
silk  trade  has  passed  since  its  establishment  here  towards 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  has  not,  however, 
developed  to  more  than  a  moderate  extent  in  recent  years. 
At  the  present  day  the  industry  is  confined  to  Dublin,  where 
five  firms  are  engaged  in  manufacturing  this  beautiful  fabric. 

Poplin  consists  of  a  mixture  of  silk  and  wool — the  warp 
being  made  of  silk  and  the  weft  of  wool.  The  life  of  an  Irish 
poplin  article  is  much  longer  than  that  of  one  made  solely 
of  silk.  This  fact  is  ascribed  to  two  causes,  namely  :  the 
mixture  of  the  two  ingredients ;  and,  in  part,  to  the  remarkable 
skill  in  weaving  possessed  by  the  Irish  poplin  weaver.  The 
uses  to  which  Irish  poplin  is  put  are  many,  but  the  chief  ones 
are  for  making  into  men's  ties  and  bows,  ladies  dresses,  scarves, 


138  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

and  hand-bags,  and  the  finest  quality  banners  are  also  made 
of  this  fabric. 

This  trade  being  affected  by  changes  in  fashions,  the  number 
of  looms  operating  in  Irish  poplin  factories  has  fluctuated  a 
great  deal  in  the  last  seventy  years.  The  following  table 
illustrates  these  fluctuations  : — 


NO.  OF  POPLIN  LOOMS 
OPERATING  IN  IRELAND  IN  THE 

FOLLOWING  YEARS. 

Year. 

No  of  Looms 
Operating. 

1845 
1850 
1868 
1870 
1880 

293 

172 

397 
443 
116 

1890 
I899 

70 
74 

1909 
1916 

130 

122 

1919 

170 

According  to  the  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907, 
there  were  522  workpeople — 276  males  and  246  females — 
employed  in  this  industry  at  that  date.  The  value  of  the 
output  was  returned  as  £60,000.  Cost  of  materials  used  and 
amount  paid  to  other  firms  for  work  given  out  to  them,  £31,000. 
Net  value  of  output,  £29,000. 

At  the  time  of  writing  there  is  a  demand  for  at  least  double 
the  present  output  of  the  Dublin  mills,  but  this  cannot  be 
met  at  once  owing  to  the  shortage  of  skilled  labour.  However, 
it  is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  record  the  fact  that  the  operatives 
have  agreed,  temporarily  at  any  rate,  to  open  the  trade  to 
outsiders,  that  is  to  say,  to  apprentices  other  than  sons  or 
grandsons  of  weavers.  This  progressive  step  should,  in  due 
course,  enable  the  industry  to  expand  far  beyond  its  present 
dimensions. 


TEXTILE   INDUSTRIES  139 


7.      THE   CARPET   INDUSTRY 

Although  the  quality  of  Irish-made  carpets  and  rugs  is 
comparable  with  the  best  made  elsewhere,  this  industry  has 
never  progressed  to  a  satisfactory  extent.  The  largest  Irish 
factory  for  the  manufacture  of  carpets  is  situated  in  Co. 
Donegal.  This  is  a  branch  establishment  of  a  Scotch  firm, 
and  the  credit  of  having  got  them  to  open  a  factory  in  Co. 
Donegal  is  due  to  the  Congested  Districts  Board  for  Ireland. 

The  Dun  Emer  Guild,  Ltd.,  in  Dublin,  has  earned  such  a 
high  reputation  for  its  beautifully  designed  and  perfectly 
made  hand-tufted  rugs  and  carpets,  that  it  is  no  longer 
mainly  dependent  upon  the  home  market  for  custom.  At 
the  time  of  writing  this  industry  is  executing  extensive  orders 
for  customers  in  Denmark,  and  its  work,  on  its  merits,  finds 
a  ready  sale  wherever  it  is  shown. 

In  the  year  1902  the  Naas  (Co.  Kildare)  Co-operative  Home 
Industries  Association,  Ltd.,  was  established  for  the  purpose 
of  providing  employment  in  that  district,  and  the  promoters 
decided  that  the  making  of  carpets  and  rugs,  by  hand,  offered 
a  favourable  opening  for  local  workers.  They  therefore 
procured  suitable  instructors  and  a  number  of  hand-looms. 
For  a  time  work  was  carried  on  at  the  local  convent,  and 
then,  as  the  industry  developed,  a  disused  malthouse  was 
acquired  and  suitably  equipped.  By  1909  the  business  had 
progressed  sufficiently  to  justify  an  increase  of  capital  and 
the  conversion  of  the  concern  into  a  limited  liability  company 
under  the  title  of  the  Kildare  Carpet  Co.,  Ltd.  Agencies 
were  established  in  a  number  of  countries  throughout  the 
world,  and  so  successful  were  the  results  that  it  was  found 
necessary  again  considerably  to  extend  the  premises  and  to 
instal  new  plant,  including  dyeing  plant  and  finishing 
machinery.  The  Company  about  this  time  amalgamated 
with  the  Abbeyleix  (Queen's  Co.)  Carpet  Co.,  who  were  also 
makers  of  hand-made  rugs  and  carpets,  and  the  plant  of  this 
latter  concern  was  brought  up  to  date. 

All  went  well  until  the  outbreak  of  war  in  1914,  when,  owing 
to  the  sudden  stoppage  of  orders,  and  the  numerous  difficulties 
in  procuring  suitable  raw  materials — dyes  especially — it  was 
found  impossible  to  carry  on  satisfactorily,  and  the  owners 


140  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

were  reluctantly  compelled  to  close  the  works.  A  year  later, 
however,  the  factory  was  acquired  by  the  Morton  Manufactur- 
ing Co.,  whose  headquarters  are  at  Stirling,  in  Scotland.  This 
firm  has  succeeded  in  keeping  the  business  going  during  the 
abnormal  period  from  which  we  have  so  recently  emerged,  and 
is  now  planning  considerably  to  extend  its  output. 

The  carpets  made  at  Naas  are  entirely  hand-made,  after 
the  style  of  the  Oriental  weaves.  They  are  made  in  qualities 
grading  from  a  thick  tufted  make,  like  Turkey  carpets,  to  the 
very  fine  weave  of  the  Persian  type  ;  further,  there  is  no  limit 
to  the  number  of  colours  which  can  be  used.  Carpets  made 
at  the  Naas  factory  are  in  use  in  some  of  the  most  palatial 
hotels  throughout  the  world,  and  on  board  the  largest  trans- 
atlantic liners. 


8.      BAG   AND    SACK-MAKING   INDUSTRY 

A  number  of  firms  in  various  parts  of  Ireland  manufacture 
linen  and  cotton  bags  and  jute  sacks.  The  output  of  these 
factories  is  largely  absorbed  by  the  Irish  flour-milling  industry, 
coal  merchants,  potato  merchants,  and  others.  The  chief 
Irish  factory  manufacturing  jute  bags  (other  jute-goods  as 
well  as  linen  and  cotton  bags  are  also  made  there)  is  situated 
in  Clara,  King's  Co.,  and  gives  employment  to  about  800 
workpeople. 


Q.      OTHER    TEXTILE    INDUSTRIES 

The  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  grouped  the  follow- 
ing branches  of  the  Textile  Industry  together  for  the  purpose 
of  those  Returns,  viz. : 

APPAREL : — Men's  and  boys'  suits  and  parts  thereof 
(coats,  vests,  trousers,  overcoats,  etc.,  including  mechanics' 
clothing  and  rainproof  goods). 

Women's  and  girls'  costumes  and  dresses  (mantles,  jackets, 
skirts,  blouses,  bodices,  aprons,  pinafores,  etc.,  including 
rainproof  goods). 

Men's  and  women's  not  separately  distinguished :  shirts, 
collars  and  cuffs,  corsets  and  stays,  underclothing,  other  than 


TEXTILE  INDUSTRIES  141 

hosiery,  hats  and  bonnets,  and  other  products.  Alterations 
and  repairs.  Amount  received  for  work  done  for  the  trade, 
and  for  work  done  on  materials  supplied  by  private  customers, 
drapers,  etc. 

The  total  value  of  the  output  for  the  foregoing  amounted 
to  £4,570,000.  Cost  of  materials  used  and  amount  paid  to 
other  firms  for  work  given  out  to  them  amounted  to  £2,777,000, 
the  net  value  of  the  output  being  £1,793,000. 

The  number  of  persons  employed  in  these  industries  that 
year  was  returned  as  41,836,  namely :  6,455  males  and  35,381 
females.  These  were  sub-divided  into :  Wage  Earners, 
4,990  males  and  34,050  females.  Salaried  Persons,  1,465 
males  and  1,331  females. 


CHAPTER  IV 
IRISH   MINERALS  AND   RAW  MATERIALS 

I.      MINERALS 

THERE  are  few  Irish  industrial  subjects  about  which 
more  conflicting  theories  exist  than  that  of  Irish 
minerals.      It   is   commonly   argued   that   fortunes 
await  the  enterprising  persons  who  may  decide  to  work  these 
deposits.     How  far  this  belief  is  capable  of  realization  rests, 
at  present,  on  a  basis  of  uncertainty.     It  has  been  established 
that  minerals  exist  in  this  country  which  offer  a  satisfactory 
remuneration  to  those  who  are  prepared  to  work  them  ;   the 
existence  of  other  mineral  deposits  has  also  been  established, 
but  as  to  the  extent  of  these  latter  no  exact  data  are  known. 

In  those  countries  which  possess  a  paternal  Government  it 
is  this  Authority  which  carries  out  the  initial  work  of  experi- 
mental boring  and  testing  mineral  deposits.  Numerous 
tests  have  been  made  by  the  British  Government  to  ascertain 
the  extent  and  commercial  possibilities  of  a  number  of  mineral 
deposits  in  Great  Britain,  but  they  have  made  no  effort  to 
investigate  the  possibilities  of  working  Irish  minerals  com- 
mercially, if  we  except  the  obscure  and  incomplete  boring 
operations  for  coal  which  have  taken  place  at  Lough  Neagh. l 
Several  definite  proposals  have  been  laid  before  the 
Government  from  time  to  time  by  responsible  Irish  bodies, 
especially  during  the  war  years,  proposals  which  the  Govern- 
ment would  have  been  fully  justified  in  investigating,  but  no 
action  resulted.  The  Geological  Survey  Branch  of  the  Irish 
Department  of  Agriculture  has  performed  as  much  useful 

1  "  Mr.  Bridgeman  informed  Major  O'Neill  that  the  experimental 
borings  at  Lough  Neagh  were  stopped  by  the  Ministry  of  Reconstruc- 
tion at  a  depth  of  1,766  feet.  The  technical  advisers  estimated  that 
at  least  another  1,450  feet  would  have  to  be  bored  before  the  coal 
measures  were  reached,  and  a  further  500  feet  would  have  to  be  gone 
through  to  find  a  good  seam  of  coal." — Hansard,  Feb.  23,  1920. 

142 


MINERALS,   RAW  MATERIALS,   ETC.       143 

work  in  this  direction  as  lay  in  its  power,  but  as  its  funds 
amount  to  no  more  than  a  mere  bagatelle,  and  as  its  work  is 
more  in  the  nature  of  abstract  scientific  inquiry,  it  is  unable 
to  carry  out  definite  tests. 

Following  are  particulars  concerning  some  minerals  which 
are  being  worked  in  Ireland  at  the  time  of  writing : — 

ANTIMONY  ORE : — This  valuable  mineral  is  being 
worked  in  Co.  Monaghan. 

BARYTES  : — Used  in  the  manufacture  of  paint — is  being 
worked  by  two  companies  in  Co.  Cork — one  at  the  Duneen 
Bay  Mines,  Clonakilty,  the  other  at  the  Dunmanus  Bay  Mines, 
Ballydehob  ;  and  a  third  company  is  working  it  at  Gleniffe, 
Co.  Sligo. 

BAUXITE : — The  British  Aluminium  Co.,  Ltd.,  have  works 
at  Lame,  Co.  Antrim,  and  prepare  aluminium  there ;  which 
is  then  dispatched  to  works  in  Scotland  to  be  finished. 
Bauxite  is  also  being  mined  at  Clegnagh,  Portrush  ;  Irish  Hill, 
Straid;  Tuftarney,  Newtown — Crommelin,  and  Urbelreagh, 
Bushmills — all  in  Co.  Antrim. 

CARBIDE  OF  CALCIUM  :— Which  is  made  from  lime 
and  anthracite  coal,  or  lime  and  coke,  is  well  known  to  every 
user  of  an  acetylene  lamp ;  it  is  manufactured  at  Collooney, 
Co.  Sligo  ;  and  Askeaton,  Co.  Limerick. 

CEMENT : — It  is  an  established  fact  that  an  abundant 
supply  of  all  the  materials  necessary  for  the  manufacture  of 
first  quality  cement  is  to  be  found  in  several  districts  through- 
out Ireland.  Despite  this  fact,  cement  is,  at  the  moment  of 
writing,  manufactured  at  only  two  works  hi  Ireland,  viz., 
Drinagh,  Co.  Wexford,  and  Magheramorne,  Co.  Antrim.  The 
former  works  have  been  in  existence  for  a  considerable  length 
of  time,  but  the  output  was  never  very  extensive.  They  have 
recently  changed  hands,  having  been  purchased  by  The  Asso- 
ciated Portland  Cement  Manufacturers,  Ltd.  This  firm  are 
also  negotiating  for  the  purchase  of  land  near  Skerries,  Co. 
Dublin,  where  they  propose  to  establish  another  cement  works, 
with  a  capacity  of  about  50,000  tons  per  annum.  The  works 
at  Magheramorne  were  established  a  few  years  ago  by  the 
British  Portland  Cement  Co.,  Ltd.,  and  have  a  capacity  of 
about  40,000  to  45,000  tons  per  annum.  That  the  existing 
works  are  wholly  incapable  of  meeting  even  the  Irish  demand — 
ignoring  for  the  moment  the  possibility  of  an  export  trade — 
is  evidenced  by  the  following  Return,  which  shows  the 


144   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

quantity  and  value  of  cement  imported,  into  Ireland  in  the 
years  1904-18. 


Year. 

Quantity  Tons. 

Value  £. 

1904 

106,673 

137,786 

1905 

136,589 

215,128 

1906 

H3,509 

171,683 

1907 

118,068 

196,288 

1908 

130,097 

208,155 

1909 

129,871 

193,183 

1910 

143,519 

206,309 

1911 

134,718 

205,455 

1912 

154,557 

245,359 

19*3 

I25.491 

213,335 

1914 

138,541 

236,097 

19*5 

99,834 

195,508 

1916 

61,041 

148,533 

1917 

48,935 

155,369 

1918 

57>9o6 

212,805 

The  true  explanation  of  the  reluctance  of  Irish  capitalists  to 
venture  into  this  industry  is  that  it  is  controlled  by  British 
combines1  who  could,  if  at  any  time  they  choose  to  do  so,  cut 
prices  to  so  low  a  figure  that  no  comparatively  small  concerns 
could  withstand  their  competition.  Two  of  these  British 
concerns,  as  we  have  mentioned  above,  have  themselves 
taken  up  the  manufacture  of  cement  in  Ireland  and  it  remains 
to  be  seen  if  they  will  develop  the  Irish  product  to  its  full 
capacity. 

COAL : — The  Irish  colliery  from  which  the  largest  annual 
output  is  obtained  is  that  at  Castlecomer,  Co.  Kilkenny. 
This  colliery  has  been  worked  continuously  for  many  genera- 
tions past.  Recently  the  Government,  after  years  of  agitation, 
constructed  a  branch  railway  line  to  connect  the  mines  with 

1  The  Associated  Portland  Cement  Manufacturers  Ltd.,  (27  concerns) 
has  an  issued  capital  of  £4,207,000,  and  debentures  to  the  amount  of 
£4,527,000.  The  British  Portland  Cement  Co.,  Ltd.,  has  an  authorized 
capital  of  £2,800,000. 


MINERALS,   RAW  MATERIALS,   ETC.       145 

the  Great  Southern  and  Western  Railway  system.  In  the 
past  the  coal  had  to  be  conveyed  many  miles  by  cart  to  the 
nearest  railway  station.  The  other  principal  coal  mines 
operating  in  Ireland  are  :  those  at  Arigna,  Co.  Leitrim,  and 
at  Queen's  County.  A  branch  railway  line  has  recently  been 
constructed  connecting  the  last-mentioned  mines  with  the 
G.S.  &  W.  Railway  line  at  Athy,  and  a  line  is  in  course  of 
construction  to  link  up  the  Arigna  mines  with  the  Cavan 
and  Leitrim  Railway. 

The  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  contained  the 
following  data  concerning  this  industry : — 


OUTPUT  OF  COAL, 
YEAR  1907. 

Quantity, 
Tons. 

Value. 
* 

Anthracite 
Steam  Coal 
Gas  Coal 
Household  Coal 

TOTAL 
Cost  of  Materials  used 

Net  Value  of  Output 

75,OOO 
7,000 
3,000 
14,000 

36,000 
3,ooo 
1,000 
6,000 

99,000 

£46,000 
6,000 

£40,000 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed — all  males — was 
returned  as  801,  made  up  as  follows  : — 


Under  16 
Years  of  age. 

Over  16 
Years  of    age. 

Total. 

Below  ground 

15 

526 

541 

Above  ground 

14 

214 

228 

(Including  those  engaged 

in  coal  washing)  .  . 

Salaried  Persons 

2 

30 

32 

TOTAL 

31 

770 

801 

10 


146  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

No  official  record  was  kept  of  the  output  of  coal  in  Ireland 
prior  to  the  year  1854.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  follow- 
ing table  there  has  been  an  almost  continuous  decline  in  the 
output  in  each  succeeding  decade  : — 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  OUTPUT  OF  COAL  IN  IRELAND 

FOR  THE  DECENNIAL  PERIODS  1854-1914. 

Year. 

Tons. 

Year. 

Tons. 

1854 
1864 
1874 
1884 

148,750 
125,000 

139.213 
122,431 

1894 
1904 
1914 

112,604 
105,637 
92,400 

Following  is  the  latest  Return,1  showing  the  total 
output  of  coal  from  Irish  mines  from  1913  to  April  26,  1919. 
(Extracted  from  The  Board  of  Trade  Journal,  June  26,  1919, 
P-  797-) 


Period. 

Average  Number  of 

Total  Output 

Year. 

Persons  Employed. 

of  Coal. 

I9J3 

800 

83,000 

1914 

700 

92,000 

I9T5 

700 

84,000 

1916 

900 

90,000 

1917 

700 

96,000 

1918 

700 

87,400 

4  months 

1919 

800 

3I,IOO 

The  variations  in  the  output  during  these  years  were 
occasioned  by  the  fact  that,  owing  to  the  abnormal  conditions 

1  See  also  Return  published  in  Appendix  III  (see.  pp.  298,  299). 


MINERALS,  RAW  MATERIALS,  ETC.      147 

due  to  the  war,  there  was  a  frequent  shortage  of  transit 
facilities.  Consequently,  large  quantities  of  coal  accumulated 
from  time  to  time  at  the  pit  mouth,  waiting  to  be  removed  ; 
when  this  occurred  the  mines  were  forced  to  reduce  their 
output. 

The  output  from  the  various  Irish  mines  during  the  year 
1918  is  shown  by  the  following  table,  which  also  shows  the 
number  of  men  employed  in  each  mine,  including  workmen 
above  the  surface  as  well  as  below  : —  1 


Number  Employed 

Name  of  Mine. 

Output. 
Tons. 

Under 

Above 

ground. 

ground 

Castlecomer  Collieries,  Ltd. 

63,675 

364 

162 

(Co.  Kilkenny) 

Arigna     Mining     Company 

7.434 

65 

24 

(Co.  Roscommon) 

New  Irish  Mining  Company 

7,086 

60 

33 

(Queen's  Co.) 

Michael  Layden 

6,367 

35 

6 

(Co.     Roscommon)     (Co. 

Leitrim) 

Slieve  Ardagh  Collieries  Co. 

3>945 

25 

12 

(Co.  Tipperary) 

Various  small  Mines 

3494 

68 

39 

TOTALS 

92,001 

617 

276 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  total  output  for  the  year  1918  given 
in  the  above  table  is  4,601  tons  in  excess  of  that  set  out 
in  the  Return  issued  by  the  Board  of  Trade.  The  present 
writer  believes  the  figures  mentioned  by  the  Coal  Industry 
Committee  may  be  accepted  as  correct. 

1  Report  of  the  Committee.  Irish  Coal  Industry  Committee,  1919, 
p.  4.  (Cmd.  650.  Price2d.net). 


148  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

DIATOMITE  ("  KIESELGUHR  ")  :— Three  companies 
are  working  this  mineral  near  Portglenone,  Co.  Antrim,  and 
it  is  also  being  worked  at  Toomebridge,  Co.  Antrim.  Its 
chief  use  is  for  insulating  purposes. 

FELSPAR  is  being  worked  near  Belleek,  Co.  Fermanagh. 

IRON  ORE  : — The  mining  of  this  mineral  is  being  carried 
on  by  three  companies  in  Co.  Antrim. 

LEAD  ORE  is  being  obtained  by  washing  the  debris 
at  Glendalough,  Co.  Wicklow,  and  operations  for  lead  winning 
are  taking  place  near  Ballysodare,  Co.  Sligo,  as  well  as  in  Co. 
Clare. 

OCHRE,  which  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  paint,  is  being 
worked  in  the  vale  of  Avoca,  Co.  Wicklow. 

PEAT  MOSS  LITTER  is  being  produced  at  Ferbane, 
King's  Co. ;  Edenderry,  King's  Co.  ;  Maghery,  Lough  Neagh 
(where  it  is  used  for  generating  steam  in  specially  constructed 
fire-boxes,  and  electrical  energy  is  produced  for  running  a 
tramway) ;  Rahan,  Tullamore,  King's  Co.  ;  Enfield,  Co. 
Meath  ;  Castleconnell,  Co.  Limerick  ;  Umeras,  Monasterevan, 
King's  Co. ;  and  Portglenone,  Co.  Antrim. 

An  interesting  experiment  was  undertaken  some  years  ago 
by  the  Messrs.  Hamilton  Robb,  at  their  Weaving  Works 
at  Portadown,  Co.  Antrim,  where  they  erected  a  producer  gas 
plant  using  peat  instead  of  anthracite  coal,  and  the  result 
has  been  highly  satisfactory.  The  fuel  is  conveyed  to  Porta- 
down by  barge  from  the  Peat  Moss  Litter  Works  at  Maghery, 
Lough  Neagh. 

COPPER  PYRITES  AND  SULPHUR  ORE  is  being 
worked  at  Avoca,  Co.  Wicklow,  and  also  near  Berehaven,  Co. 
Cork. 

ROAD-MAKING  MATERIALS :— A  number  of  well- 
equipped  Irish  quarries  with  up-to-date  crushing  machinery 
have  been  engaged  for  many  years  past  in  the  working  of  road- 
making  materials.  These  quarries  are  situated  in  various 
districts  throughout  the  country. 

SALT  is  being  mined  and  manufactured  from  brine  by 
several  companies  in  the  district  of  Carrickfergus,  Co.  Antrim. 

SLATE  : — There  are  several  slate  quarries  operating  in 
Ireland  and  the  quality  of  most  of  their  products  is  excellent  ; 


MINERALS,   RAW  MATERIALS,   ETC.       149 

but  they,  too,  require  the  same  improved  conditions  that  we 
refer  to  below  under  the  heading  of  Stones.  On  an  average, 
slate  to  the  value  of  over  £100,000  per  annum  is  imported  into 
Ireland. 

STEATITE  OR  SOAPSTONE,  which  is  extensively  used 
in  the  arts  and  manufactures — one  variety  is  well  known  by 
the  name  of  French  chalk — is  being  mined  near  Lough  Gartan, 
Co.  Donegal. 

STONES  : — Diorite,  granite,  limestone,  marble,  sandstones, 
freestones  and  whinstone  are  all  being  worked  at  a  number  of 
quarries  scattered  throughout  the  country.  Many  of  these 
stones  are  of  first  quality,  and  Irish  marble  is  to  be  found  in 
buildings  of  various  kinds  in  many  other  countries  besides 
this.  However,  the  quantity  of  stone  worked  annually  in 
Ireland  is  but  a  tithe  of  what  it  should  be,  and  there  is  ample 
scope  for  considerable  development  in  this  direction.  What 
is  needed  is  the  investment  of  more  capital,  the  introduction 
of  the  best  types  of  machinery,  better  transit  facilities,  especi- 
ally in  respect  of  rates  for  carriage,  and  general  business-like 
management  of  the  works. 

Irish  architects  could — some  do — give  great  help  by  keep- 
ing themselves  informed  as  to  vwhat  building  materials  of 
Irish  origin  are  procurable  and  specifying  for  the  use  of  these  in 
building  operations  under  their  control.  At  the  same  time 
it  is  essential  that  Irish  quarry  owners  should  keep  them 
informed  at  frequent  intervals  as  to  what  materials  they  can 
supply,  and  that,  when  orders  are  placed,  no  avoidable  hitch 
should  be  allowed  to  occur  in  delivering  the  goods  within  the 
time  specified. 

Those  who  desire  to  obtain  first-hand  knowledge  of  native 
building  materials  can  do  so  by  visiting  the  National  Museum 
in  Dublin,  where  a  representative  collection  is  exhibited. 
The  credit  of  having  gathered  together  this  exhibit  and  making 
it  available  for  Inspection  is  due  to  the  Dublin  Industrial 
Development  Association,  the  Architectural  Association  ol 
Ireland,  and  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical 
Instruction  for  Ireland. 


150   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


TABLE    SHOWING   THE     OUTPUT,    IN     TONS,     OF    MINERAL 

FROM    MINES    IN    IRELAND    UNDER    THE    METALLIFEROUS 

MINES   REGULATION   ACTS   FOR  THE   DECENNIAL   PERIODS 

1873  TO  1913  : 

Mineral. 

1873- 

1883. 

1893. 

1903. 

1913- 

Barium 

3,736 

4,588 

4,934 

2,039 

13,289 

Bauxite 

— 

13,478 

8,740 

6,128 

6,055 

Copper  Ore 

8,793 

182 

— 

52i 

167 

Copper   pre- 

60 

43 

— 

— 

cipitate 

Iron  Ore 

127,132 

146,452 

67,292 

96,325 

60,014 

Iron  Pyrites 

37,738 

12,180 

3,568 

2,739 

1,840 

Lead  Ore 

1,211 

485 

59 

— 

Lignite 

1,310 

— 

— 

81 

Ochre 

— 

1,162 

793 

— 

1,005 

Rock  Salt 

33,751 

37,405 

41,308 

32,234 

43.391 

Soapstone 

— 

— 

40 

Zinc  Ore 

858 

IOO 

— 

— 

* 

Further  particulars  of  the  output  of  Irish  mines  and  quarries 
and  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  and  about  them  will 
be  found  in  Appendix  III  (see  pp.  298,  299) . 


2.      THE    BRICK   INDUSTRY 

There  are  about  seventy  brickworks  in  Ireland,  but  a 
number  of  these  are  not  kept  regularly  employed.  When  a 
brisk  demand  occurs,  and  the  price  is  remunerative,  many  of 
them  operate,  but  at  other  periods  a  number  shut  down.  For 
some  years  prior  to  the  war  very  little  profit  was  made  by 
Irish  brickworks,  as  a  steady  supply  of  bricks  came  into 
Ireland  from  across-channel,  and  the  ruling  prices  made  it 
difficult  for  the  Irish  concerns  to  work  profitably. 

During  the  war  years,  as  we  have  stated  elsewhere,  building 


MINERALS,  RAW  MATERIALS,  ETC.       151 

operations  in  Ireland  were  brought  almost  to  a  standstill. 
Consequently  the  production  of  bricks  in  this  country  was 
infinitesimal.  A  number  of  the  works  are  now  anticipating 
a  better  demand  for  their  products,  and  if  the  projected  Irish 
building  programmes  are  proceeded  with  this  industry  should 
be  considerably  stimulated. 

The  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  contained  the 
following  information  in  respect  to  this  industry,  viz.  : — 

Total  value  of  goods  made  and  work  done £105,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used 28,000 


Net  value  of  Output     £77,000 

The  total  number  of  hands  employed  was  returned  as  1,231, 
made  up  as  follows :  Wage  Earners,  1,152  males  and  16 
females ;  Salaried  Persons,  49  males  and  14  females. 

One  of  the  prime  difficulties  from  which  this  industry  suffers 
is  the  excessive  rates  charged  by  Irish  Railway  Companies  for 
the  transit  of  its  products.  Where  the  works  are  situated  within 
cartage  distance  of  a  port  they  are  able  to  compete  for  the 
trade  in  Irish  towns  similarly  situated,  but  when  they  are 
obliged  to  send  their  goods  by  rail  it  becomes  a  difficult 
problem  how  to  do  so  profitably. 


3.      THE    BUILDING   TRADE 

The  periodical  position  of  this  trade  may  be  taken  as  a  fairly 
true  index  of  the  economic  condition  of  a  country.  When  a 
country  is  developing  and  prosperous,  employment  in  the 
building  trade  rises  ;  when  it  is  stagnant  or  decaying,  employ- 
ment falls  below  normal.  There  is  not  very  much  material 
available  to  indicate  the  fluctuations  that  have  taken  place 
in  the  building  trade  in  Ireland  within  the  past  seventy  years  ; 
but  by  piecing  together  various  data  one  is  able  to  arrive  at 
the  conclusion  that,  after  passing  through  a  fairly  long  spell 
of  intermittent  ups  and  downs,  the  demand  for  buildings  and 
constructional  work  has  shown  a  more  upward  tendency  since 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century  than  it  did  in  the  closing 
half  of  the  preceding  one. 


152   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  nearest  guide  we  can  obtain  to  the  extent  of  the  trade 
is  that  supplied  by  the  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907. 
In  that  year  the  total  number  of  persons  employed  was  14,330, 
made  up  as  follows :  Wage  Earners,  13,432  males  and  51 
females ;  Salaried  Persons,  792  males  and  55  females. 

The  total  value  of  the  Output  was  returned  as  .  .£1,891,000 
Cost  of  Materials  used,  etc 912,000 

Net  value  of  Output     £979,000 

During  the  war  years  ordinary  building  operations,  so  far 
as  Ireland  was  concerned,  were  brought  to  a  standstill.  The 
Government  took  over  control  of  all  building  materials  and 
only  released  such  quantities  as  were  necessary  to  erect  or 
repair  buildings  used  in  respect  of  war-work.  This  had  the 
effect  of  compelling  thousands  of  Irish  building  operatives  to 
migrate  to  Great  Britain,  there  being  an  abnormal  demand 
there  for  skilled  men  of  this  kind,  to  work  hi  the  erecting  of  the 
numerous  munition  factories  and  other  Government  buildings 
which  were  put  up  on  that  side  of  the  channel.  The  few  lilli- 
putian  munition  factories  established  in  Ireland  may  be 
ignored  so  far  as  they  affected  the  Irish  building  trade.  A 
number  of  Irish  builders,  rather  than  close  down  their  works 
altogether,  adapted  their  wood-working  plant  to  the  manufac- 
ture of  munition  boxes,  and,  after  considerable  effort  by  the 
All-Ireland  Munitions  and  Government  Supplies  Committee, 
secured  contracts  for  the  supply  of  a  few  varieties  of  these 
boxes.  This  work  enabled  them  to  keep  a  certain  proportion 
of  their  hands  employed.  The  present  writer  is  aware  that 
some  of  them  lost  money  over  these  contracts  ;  a  few  just 
cleared  themselves,  without  losing  money,  and  a  small  number 
made  a  moderate  profit.  One  and  all  of  them  were  glad  to 
drop  box-making  and  revert  to  their  regular  trade  immediately 
the  Armistice  was  signed. 

Owing  to  the  excessive  rise  in  the  prices  of  all  building 
materials,  as  compared  with  pre-war  prices  (an  increase 
equivalent  to  at  least  300  per  cent],  only  those  persons  who 
are  compelled  to  build  are  doing  so  at  the  time  of  writing  ; 
others  who  would  under  normal  conditions  place  contracts 
for  the  erection  of  new  buildings  are  holding  back  until 
prices  fall.  Numerous  Municipal  schemes  have  been  prepared 
for  the  erection  of  small  houses  and  workmen's  dwellings  in 


MINERALS,   RAW  MATERIALS,   ETC.      153 

this  country,  but  these  have  been  held  up  pending  the  passage 
of  Bills  enabling  the  Government  to  bear  a  fair  proportion 
of  the  loss  that  must  accrue  in  consequence  of  the  cost  of 
building,  such  houses  being  in  excess  of  their  economic  value. 
That  is  to  say,  the  rents  obtainable  for  such  houses  will  be 
less  than  the  amount  necessary  to  meet  the  interest  payable 
by  Municipalities  on  the  loans  they  must  incur,  before  they 
can  erect  the  dwellings,  plus  the  cost  of  upkeep.  Bills  on 
these  lines,  applying  to  Ireland  and  to  Great  Britain,  have  now 
become  Law,  but  the  financial  clauses  of  the  Irish  Bill  are 
less  favourable  than  those  of  the  British  Bill  and,  it  is  univers- 
ally agreed,  are  inadequate  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  present 
situation.1  Consequently,  the  Irish  building  schemes  remain 
in  suspense  at  the  time  of  writing,  and  an  energetic  agitation 
is  being  carried  on  with  the  object  of  compelling  the  Govern- 
ment to  deal  fairly  with  this  country  in  this  connexion. 


4.      TIMBER   PRODUCTS 

Timber  products  enter  into  so  many  different  industries 
and  branches  of  industry  that  it  is  not  easy  to  classify  them 
under  a  few  headings.  Home-grown  and  imported  timber — 
the  latter  received  in  the  round — are  sawn  into  planks  in 
Irish  saw  mills  and  then  converted,  in  Irish  workshops  and 
factories,  into  numerous  articles  of  general  utility.  For 
instance,  to  mention  only  a  few  of  these  articles,  doors, 
window-frames  and  joinery  of  every  description,  furniture, 
wash-boards,  brush  and  broom  handles,  railway-sleepers, 
carts,  railway  and  other  waggons,  wheels,  motor-bodies, 
packing  cases  and  hand-trucks  are  all  made  in  Ireland.  There 
are  no  definite  data  to  guide  us  as  to  the  extent  of  these 
industries  at  the  present  day,  therefore  we  must  accept  the 
Census  of  Production  Returns,  of  1907,  as  the  nearest  approach 
to  a  reliable  estimate  of  what  these  industries  represent. 

1  "  The  cost  of  the  poorest  type  of  house  that  the  Local  Govern- 
ment Board  has  approved  is  to  be  £836.  That  will  mean  an  economic 
rent  of  333.  9d.  per  week.  Of  this  the  State  will  contribute  i8s.  pd., 
and  the  tenant  must  pay  the  balance — 153.  That  is  not  a  very  cheer- 
ful prospect.  Even  in  Belfast  it  is  hardly  likely  that  the  working-class 
population  is  prepared  to  pay  such  a  sum.  The  Corporation,  appar- 
ently, is  oi  that  opinion,  and  it  has  resolved  to  see  what  can  be  done  by 
direct  labour," — Irish  Times,  April  3,  1920. 


154  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  Returns  referred  to  grouped  the  following  sections 
under  the  headings  of  "  Timber  Factories  and  Workshops," 
viz.  : — 

SECTION  I.    SAWMILL  PRODUCTS: 

Deals,  battens,  planks,  floorings,  match  boardings,  mould- 
ings, architraves,  casings,  skirtings,  railway  timber  (creosoted 
or  not),  veneers  and  panel  wood. 

SECTION  Hi- 
Manufactured  Joinery — including  fittings  for  houses, 
shops  and  banks,  crates,  cases  and  boxes  (for  packing  mer- 
chandise), wood  turnery  (of  all  kinds),  coffins,  manufactures 
of  cork,  fencing,  hurdles,  and  gates,  furniture  of  wood,  other 
wood  goods,  firewood,  shavings,  sawdust,  general  and  jobbing 
carpentry  and  joinery  work,  work  done  on  new  buildings, 
alteration  and  repair  of  buildings  and  work  done  on  commis- 
sion or  on  hire  on  materials  supplied. 

The  total  value  of  the  output  in  1907,  was  returned  as 
follows : — 


SECTION  i.  ..        ..        ...         ..     411,000 

SECTION  2.  . .        . .        . .        . .     213,000 


TOTAL  OUTPUT       . .        . .        . .  £624,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used  and  amount  paid 
to  other  firms  for  work  given  out 
to  them  390,000 


Net  Value  of  Output         £234,000 


The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  these  two  sec- 
tions was  returned  as  3,340,  made  up  as  follows,  viz. : 
Wage  Earners,  3,011  males  and  44  females ;  Salaried  Persons, 
369  males  and  385  females. 


MINERALS,  RAW  MATERIALS,   ETC.       155 

SECTION   III:- 

Wooden  crate,  case,  box  and  trunk  factories  and  workshops. 


Total  Value  of  Output       . .         . .         . .       94,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used       . .       58,000 


Net  Value  of  Output         £36,000 


The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  this  section  was 
471,  made  up  as  follows,  viz. :  Wage  Earners,  430  males 
and  5  females ;  Salaried  Persons,  35  males  and  I  female. 

SECTION  IV:- 

Carriage,  cart,  and  waggon  factories  and  workshops. 


£ 

Total  Value  of  Output 134,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used      . .         . .         . .       54,ooo 


Net  Value  of  Output          £80,000 


The  total  number  of  persons  employed  was  1,282,  made 
up  as  follows :  Wage  Earners,  1,099  males  and  7  females ; 
Salaried  Persons,  172  males  and  4  females. 

During  the  latter  years  of  the  war,  so  many  regular  branches 
of  Irish  industry  having  been  brought  to  a  standstill,  the 
greater  part  of  the  output  of  Irish  saw  mills  and  wood-working 
factories  consisted  of  ammunition  boxes.  Since  the  signing 
of  the  Armistice  this  work  has  entirely  ceased,  and  the  con- 
cerns which  were  engaged  on  it  have  reverted  to  their  ordinary 
trades. 


CHAPTER  V 
BREWING,   DISTILLING,   ETC.,   INDUSTRIES 

I.      BREWING   AND   MALTING 

BREWING    is    an    Irish    industry  which,   despite    the 
severe  regulations  governing  the  sale  of  its  products, 
showed  a  consistent  upward  curve  until  the  recent 
war  years.    This  fact  is  evident  from  a  perusal  of  the  follow- 
ing Return  of  the  amount  of  beer  brewed  in  Ireland  in  the 
years  mentioned  : — 


Year. 

No.  of  Barrels. 

1856 

926,000 

1861 

1,437.713 

1871 

1,616,656 

1882 

2,044,331 

1891 

2,555.273 

1901        3,149,142 

1911        3,215,000 

1914 

3,532,OOO 

1915 

3,4I2,OOO 

I9I61      3,279,000 

1917! 

2,850,000 

I9I81 

1,603,679 

1919! 

1,459,079 

In  the  year  1913  the  duty  per  standard  barrel  of  thirty-six 
gallons  was  73.  gd. :  from  November  i,  1914,  it  was  increased 

1  The  falling  off  in  quantity  in  these  four  years  was  due  to  the  restric- 
tions as  regards  output  imposed  upon  brewers  by  the  Government. 
These  restrictions  have  now  been  withdrawn. 

156 


BREWING,  DISTILLING,  ETC.,  INDUSTRIES   157 

to  255.  This  duty  was  subject  to  a  rebate  of  2s.  per  barrel 
to  March  31,  1916,  and  of  is.  during  the  financial  year  1916-17. 
In  1918  this  amount  was  doubled,  bringing  it  up  to  503.  per 
barrel ;  an  additional  2os.  for  the  year  1919  was  added,  thereby 
raising  it  to  703.  per  barrel,  and  a  further  305.  was  added  in 
1920,  making  the  duty  loos,  per  barrel. 

Altogether  there  are  about  twenty-four  breweries  operating 
in  Ireland  brewing  stcut  and  porter  ;  about  fourteen  of  these 
also  brew  ale.  It  is  estimated  that  nearly  sixty  per  cent,  of 
the  stout,  porter,  and  ale  brewed  in  Ireland  is  consumed  in 
this  country.  The  following  return  shows  the  quantity  and 
value  of  these  commodities  exported  in  the  years  1904-18 : — 


Year. 

Ale  and  Beer. 

Porter. 

Barrels. 

Value  £. 

Hogsheads. 

Value  £. 

1904 

1,546 

5,154 

514,763 

1,647,242 

I9°5 

2,024 

6,680 

539,429 

1,737,411 

1906 

17,18  J1 

57,124 

571,445 

1,828,624 

1907 

2,421 

7,566 

610,893 

1,954,858 

1908 

1,724 

5,301 

621,827 

1,642,640 

1909 

1,616 

4,929 

625,784 

I,653,H3 

1910 

1,899 

5,792 

695,923 

1,838,397 

1911 

1,636 

5,113 

729,298 

1,926,562 

1912 

1,298 

4,170 

794,447 

2,098,664 

19*3 

1,335 

4,339 

859,056 

2,269,340 

1914 

1,679 

5,54i 

689,696 

2,446,664 

19*5 

1,997 

7,256 

887,591 

2,500,048 

1916 

780 

3.471 

893,777 

3,053,738 

1917 

362 

1,818 

508,987 

2,527,969 

1918 

745 

4,917 

490,422 

2,431,676 

Whilst  Irish  brewers  generally  make  a  proportion  of  the 
malt  they  use,  and  some  make  all  they  require,  the  majority 

1  It  is  believed  that  a  quantity  of  porter  was  inadvertently  included 
in  this  figure,  that  the  amount  of  ale  and  beer  exported  in  1906  was  not 
as  great  as  this  represents  it  to  have  been. 


158  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

obtain  large  quantities  from  Irish  and  cross-channel  maltsters. 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  following  return  that  Irish  maltsters 
carry  on  a  fair  export  trade  in  this  commodity,  but  that  a  far 
larger  quantity  is  imported  into  Ireland : — 


RETURN     OF    MALT     IMPORTED     INTO     AND 

EXPORTED    FROM     IRELAND. 

IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS. 

Year. 

Quantity. 
Cwts. 

Value  £. 

Quantity. 
Cwts. 

Value  £. 

1904 

807,006 

5H,I04 

91,222 

57,774 

I9°5 

738,089 

452,079 

82,040 

50,250 

1906 

641,879 

385,127 

84,737 

50,842 

1907 

566,189 

339,713 

85,132 

51,079 

1908 

808,817 

535,841 

79,379 

52,589 

1909 

652,872 

429,807 

161,045 

106,021 

1910 

735,196 

468,687 

72,892 

46,469 

1911 

830,597 

490,551 

76,890 

48,107 

1912 

878,642 

621,995 

74,in 

52,585 

1913 

746,069 

500,418 

64,216 

43,127 

1914 

1,216,943 

757,743 

65,163 

40,651 

1915 

632,179 

505,743 

78,558 

62,846 

1916 

498,023 

581,027 

67,773 

79,069 

1917 

244,382 

325,843 

32,903 

43,871 

1918 

36,190 

34,455 

20,810 

19,813 

All  available  Irish  barley  is  used  to  make  malt,  but  when 
insufficient  in  quantity  it  is  imported  from  abroad. 

The  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  contained  the 
following  information  concerning  the  Irish  Brewing  and  Malt- 
ing industries,  viz.  :  The  total  number  of  persons  employed 
in  the  year  1907  was  returned  as  6,451,  made  up  as  follows  : 
Wage  Earners,  5,354  males  and  no  females ;  Salaried  Persons, 
943  males  and  44  females. 


BREWING,  DISTILLING,  ETC.,   INDUSTRIES  159 


The  Total  value  of  the  Output  £ 

in  1907  was  returned  as  :  5,849,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used  .  .        .  .      £2,291,000 

Amount  paid  to  other  firms  for 

work  given  out  to  them  48,000 


Net  Value  of  Output       .  .  £3,510,000 


LIST   OF   BREWERIES   OPERATING   IN   IRELAND  TO-DAY 

The  following  list  contains  the  names  of  most,  if  not  all, 
of  the  breweries  operating  in  Ireland  at  the  present  day.  My 
reason  for  inserting  this  information  is  that,  as  will  be  seen, 
many  of  these  breweries  have  been  in  existence  for  a  consider- 
able number  of  years — several  of  them  for  more  than  a 
century.  The  names  of  the  firms,  with  the  exception  of  the 
first  mentioned,  have  been  arranged  in  alphabetical  order, 
not  in  the  order  of  their  respective  size  of  output. 

The  firm  of  Arthur  Guinness,  Sons  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  of  Dublin, 
have  the  largest  output  of  any  brewery  in  the  world.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  they  brew  more  than  two-thirds  of  all  the 
beer  brewed  in  Ireland  and  over  one-twentieth  of  the  beer 
brewed  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  The  originators  of  the 
present  firm  purchased  this  brewery  in  1759,  but  it  was  actu- 
ally established  as  a  brewery  for  many  years  prior  to  that 
date. 

Other  Irish  Brewers  are  :  Beamish  &  Crawford,  Ltd. ; 
The  Cork  Brewery,  Cork,  established  about  the  year  1751  ; 
Thomas  R.  Caffrey,  The  Mountain  Brewery,  Belfast,  estab- 
lished about  twenty  years  ago  ;  The  Castlebellingham  & 
Drogheda  Brewery  Co.,  Ltd.,  which  owns  breweries  in  both 
of  the  towns  from  which  the  Company  take  their  title — the 
first  named  established  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  and 
the  latter  in  1825  ;  Cherry  Bros.,  Creywell  Brewery,  New  Ross, 
Co.  Wexford,  established  about  1830  ;  John  D'Arcy  &  Sons, 
Ltd.,  The  Anchor  Brewery,  Dublin,  established  in  the  year 
1740  ;  Davis  Strangman  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  Waterford,  established  at 


160   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  Deasy  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  Clona- 
kilty,  Co.  Cork,  established  about  1800 ;  W.  J.  Downes  &  Co., 
Enniskillen,  Co.  Fermanagh  :  P.  &  H.  Egan,  Ltd.,  Tullamore, 
King's  Co.,  established  in  1852  ;  The  Great  Northern  Brewery 
Co.,  Ltd.,  Dundalk,  established  in  1897  ;  Patrick  Kiely  & 
Sons,  St.  Stephen's  Brewery,  Waterford,  established  about 
1800  ;  George  H.  Lett,  Mill  Park  Brewery,  Enniscorthy,  Co. 
Wexford,  established  in  1810  ;  Macardle,  Moore  &  Co.,  Ltd., 
Dundalk,  Co.  Louth,  established  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century ;  McConnell's  Brewery,  Ltd.,  Belfast,  established 
about  twenty  years  ago  ;  The  Mountjoy  Brewery  Co.,  Ltd., 
Russell  Street,  Dublin,  established  in  1852  ;  Thomas  Murphy 
&  Co.,  Ltd.,  Clonmel,  Co.  Tipperary,  established  in  1798  ; 
James  J.  Murphy  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  Lady's  Well  Brewery,  Cork, 
established  in  1856  ;  Robert  Perry  &  Son,  Ltd.,  Rathdowney, 
Queen's  Co.,  established  about  1800  ;  E.  Smithwick  &  Sons, 
Ltd.,  The  St.  Francis  Abbey  Brewery,  Kilkenny,  established 
in  1710  ;  The  St.  James'  Street  Brewery,  Kilkenny,  established 
in  1702 ;  Watkins,  Jameson,  Pirn  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  Ardee 
Street,  Dublin,  established  in  1736,  and  Wickham  &  Co., 
Wexford,  established  about  1800. 


2.      THE    DISTILLING    INDUSTRY 

Some  years  ago  a  report  from  the  British  Consul  at  Turkey- 
in-Asia,  mentioned  that  the  Mohammedan  natives  of  that 
district — bound  by  the  tenets  of  their  religion  to  abstain  from 
drinking  wine — had  discovered  that  whisky  is  not  a  wine,  and 
were  rapidly  acquiring  a  taste  for  this  spirit.  The  Consul 
suggested  that  British  distillers  should  endeavour  to  capture 
this  new  market.  That  these  far  Eastern  folk  are  not  the 
only  people  who  have  acquired  a  taste  for  whisky  is  abun- 
dantly proved  by  the  returns  published  from  year  to  year  of 
the  quantity  of  this  commodity  distilled  and  consumed  in 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  as  well  as  in  countries  abroad. 

The  table,  which  follows,  shows  the  number  of  gallons  of 
proof  spirits  distilled  in  Ireland  at  various  periods  from  the 
year  1820-1918.  The  reader  should  bear  in  mind  that  these 
totals  include  both  pot  and  patent-still  spirit,  and  for  some 
years  past  industrial  alcohol,  distilled  in  Ireland,  has  also  been 
included  therein. 


BREWING,  DISTILLING,  ETC.,  INDUSTRIES  161 


NO.  OF  GALLONS  OF  PROOF  SPIRITS 
DISTILLED  IN  IRELAND. 

Year. 

No.  of  Gallons. 

Year. 

No.  of  Gallons. 

l820 

4,607,296 

1904 

13,010,772 

1825 

8,835,027 

I9°5 

11,798,155 

1830 

8,694,742 

1906 

12,650,577 

1840 

7,281,429 

1907 

12,053,184 

1850 

8,293,034 

1908 

11,653,513 

1857 

8,910,637 

1909 

12,192,244 

1860 

7,405,593 

1910 

10,758,965 

1865 

5,483,208 

1911 

9,723,815 

1870 

6,599,636 

1912 

9,747,976 

1875 

9,674,004 

1913 

9,875,747 

1880 

11,159,349 

1914 

9,878,739 

1885 

9,833,786 

i9J5 

10,249,436 

1890 

11,817,072 

1916 

10,839,430 

1895 

12,679,435 

1917 

13,201,141 

1900 

14,480,871 

1918 

12,407,868 

1903 

12,441,298 

1919 

11,076,515 

In  the  year  1853  the  duty  on  spirits  produced  in  Ireland 
was  raised  from  2s.  8d.  to  33.  4d.,  in  1854  to  43.,  subsequently 
to  6s.  2d.,  in  1858  to  8s.,  in  1860  to  ios.,  in  1908  it  stood  at 
us.,  a  year  later  it  was  raised  to  145.  gd.,  in  1918  to  303., 
in  1919  to  503.,  and  in  1920  to  723.  6d.  per  proof  gallon.  These 
latter  increases,  and  the  restrictions  imposed  by  the  Govern- 
ment in  respect  to  the  limitation  of  the  output  of  spirits  for 
human  consumption  during  the  war  years,  have  had  the  effect 
of  considerably  reducing  the  average  annual  production  of 
pot-still  whisky  in  this  country.  No  pot-still  whisky  was 
made  in  Ireland  in  the  year  1918. 

Owing  to  their  adaptability  for  the  purpose,  a  number  of 
Irish  patent-still  distilleries  were  able  to  engage  in  the  manu- 
facture of  industrial  alcohol  during  recent  years,  thereby  giving 
them  an  advantage  as  compared  with  pot-still  distilleries, 
which  were,  for  technical  reasons,  unable  to  adapt  themselves 
to  the  manufacture  of  this  product.  As  many  persons  are 
ii 


162   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

unaware  of  the  fact,  it  may  be  well  to  mention  that,  briefly, 
the  difference  between  a  pot-still  and  a  patent-still  distillery 
is  that  the  former  manufactures  pure  malt  whisky,  made 
almost  exclusively  from  home-grown  corn,  whereas  the  latter, 
by  a  different  process  of  distillation,  produces  a  spirit  made 
from  maize,  Indian  corn,  oats,  and  other  chiefly  imported 
cereals,  and  blends  with  it  a  small  proportion  of  pot-still 
whisky  to  give  it  flavour  and  make  it  palatable. 

In  the  year  1899  there  were  altogether  29  distilleries  operat- 
ing in  Ireland  ;  in  1909  the  number  had  fallen  to  26  ;  in  1910 
to  25  ;  in  1913  to  24  ;  in  1914  to  22  ;  in  igiy1  to  24;  in  1918 
to  6,  and  in  1919  the  number  operating  was  23.  These  latter 
23  were  situated  in  the  following  countries,  namely : 
Antrim  2  ;  Cork  3  ;  Down  5  ;  Dublin  5  ;  Kildare  i ;  King's 
County  i  ;  Londonderry  4  ;  Louth  i  and  Westmeath  i. 

The  quantities  of  spirits  produced  in  each  class  of  distillery 
in  Ireland  during  the  years  ended  September  30,  1918,  and 
1919,  were  as  follows  : 


1918 

Quantity 
Proof  Gallons 

1919 
Quantity 
Proof  Gallons. 

Distilleries  manufacturing 
Yeast  :  Using  Patent  Stills 
with  or  without  Pot  Stills 

11,895,849 

9.344.123 

Distilleries  not  manufacturing 
Yeast  :  Using  Patent  Stills 
with  or  without  Pot  Stills 

— 

250,302 

Using  Pot  Stills  only 
TOTAL 

— 

2,234,668 

11,895,849 

11,829,093 

The  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  show  that  the 
total  number  of  persons  employed  in  this  industry  in  Ireland 
in  the  year  1907,  was  2,423,  made  up  as  follows :  Wage 
Earners,  2,017  male  and  42  female  ;  Salaried  Persons,  355 
male  and  9  female. 

1  In  this  year  there  were  7  distilleries  operating  in  England,  and  112 
operating  in  Scotland. 


BREWING,  DISTILLING,  ETC.,   INDUSTRIES  168 

The  value  of  the  output  that  year  was  returned  as  follows  : 


Spirits        . .         . .         . .         . .  . .  . .  1,057,000 

Yeast1       . .  . .  249,000 

Offals  and  other  Waste  Products  . .  . .  109,000 

Casks,  Cases  and  other  Products  . .  . .  4,000 

TOTAL  OUTPUT 
Cost  of  Materials  Used 

Net  value  of  Output        


..  £1,419,000 
905,000 


£514,000 


Irish  whisky  is  in  demand  in  very  many  countries  through- 
out the  world,  some  of  the  leading  brands  being  as  well- 
known  in  far-distant  lands  as  in  the  home  country.  Conse- 
quently the  export  trade  represents  a  large  proportion  of  the 
total  trade  of  Irish  distilleries. 

The  following  Table  shows  the  quantity  and  value  of  Irish- 
made  Spirits  exported  from  Ireland  in  the  years  1904  to  1918  : — 


Year. 

Quantity 
Proof  Gallons. 

Value  £. 

1904 

8,637,031 

2,339,196 

1905 

8,047,042 

2,179,407 

1906 

7,900,012 

2,133,587 

1907 

8,510,304 

2,304,874 

1908 

8,492,177 

2,299,964 

1909 

6,424.533 

!,739.979 

1910 

7,551,876 

2,050,199 

1911 

7,569,966 

2,050,199 

1912 

7,237,426 

1,960,136 

1913 

7-415,999 

2,008,500 

1914 

7,127,547 

1,930,377 

1915 

5,707,705 

1,714,989 

1916 

3,943,918 

4,272,578 

1917 

2,625,826 

3,194,755 

1918 

3,120,171 

3,796,208 

1  Yeast  is  a  product  of  patsnt-still  distilleries. 


164  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  prohibition  of  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks  in  the 
United  States  of  America  has  cut  off  a  profitable  market  from 
Irish  distillers.  Whether  or  not  they  will  be  able  to  discover 
new  outlets  which  will  compensate  them  for  this  loss  of  trade 
remains  to  be  seen.  The  introduction  into  Ireland  of  the 
distillation  of  industrial  alcohol,  during  the  war  years,  proved 
a  valuable  asset  to  the  Irish  patent-still  distillers.  The 
demand  for  this  commodity  is  certain  to  increase  from  year 
to  year,  and  it  is  probable  that,  should  there  not  be  as  great 
a  demand  for  Irish  whisky  in  future  as  there  was  some  years 
ago,  the  production  in  Ireland  of  industrial  alcohol  may  help 
to  compensate  for  the  falling  off  in  the  other  class  of  spirit. 


3.      AERATED   WATERS,    ETC.,    INDUSTRIES 

This  group,  which  includes  makers  of  aerated  and  mineral 
waters,  cider,  "  British  "  wines,  fruit  juices,  syrups,  and  non- 
alcoholic beverages  made  therefrom,  fruit  cordials,  vinegar, 
etc.,  represents  an  important  branch  of  Irish  industry. 
According  to  the  Census  of  Production  Returns,  the  total 
value  of  its  output  in  the  year  1907  was  £474,000.  (The  aerated 
and  mineral  waters  industry  was  responsible  for  the  sum  of 
£398,000  of  this  amount.)  The  cost  of  materials  used 
amounted  to  £228,000,  leaving  the  sum  of  £246,000  as  the 
net  value  of  the  output.  The  number  of  persons  employed 
was  returned  as  2,110,  made  up  as  follows  :  Wage  Earners, 
1,701  males  and  79  females ;  Salaried  Persons,  303  males  and 
27  females. 

The  larger  aerated  and  mineral  water  factories  are  situated 
in  Dublin  and  Belfast,  and  smaller  ones  are  to  be  found  in 
nearly  every  fair-sized  town  throughout  the  country.  The 
larger  firms  not  alone  cater  for  the  home  market,  but  have 
built  up  an  unrivalled  reputation  for  their  manufactures  in 
every  country  in  the  world  where  these  drinks  are  consumed. 
The  following  return  of  the  quantities  and  value  of  these 
goods  exported  from  Ireland  in  each  of  the  years  mentioned 
is  ample  confirmation  of  this  statement.  The  reader  should 
bear  in  mind  that  the  Irish  manufacturer  is  handicapped  by 
having  to  pay  additional  freight  upon  his  products  when  selling 
them  outside  of  Ireland  in  competition  with  those  of  cross- 
channel  firms. 


BREWING,  DISTILLING,  ETC.,  INDUSTRIES    165 


AERATED  AND  MINERAL  WATERS 
EXPORTED  FROM  IRELAND. 

Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

Value  £. 

1904 

244.131 

195,297 

1905 

268,003 

214,402 

1906 

310,863 

248,690 

1907 

315,834 

252,667 

1908 

279,920 

223,936 

1909 

287,520 

230,016 

1910 

298,887 

239,110 

igil 

346,474 

277,179 

1912 

317,906 

254,325 

1913 

332,265 

265,812 

1914 

271,564 

217,251 

1915 

240,799 

192,639 

1916 

255,235 

224,394 

1917 

158,260 

166,173 

1918 

116,971 

163,759 

4.      CIDER 

The  manufacture  of  apple  cider  in  Ireland  is  of  com- 
paratively recent  date,  but  the  two  firms  engaged  in  this 
industry — Messrs.  Thomas  Power  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  Dungarvan, 
Co.  Waterford,  and  the  Co.  Armagh  Cider  Co.,  Ltd.,  Porta- 
down,  Co.  Armagh — have  displayed  considerable  enterprise 
in  building  up  and  continually  extending  their  businesses. 
The  bulk  of  the  cider  produced  in  Ireland  is  consumed  in 
this  country,  whilst  a  small  quantity  is  exported  across-channel. 
This  industry  has  caused  an  extension  of  apple-growing  in 
the  districts  in  which  it  is  carried  on. 


5.      THE    BOTTLING    INDUSTRY 

A  record  of  the  brewing  and  distilling  industries  would  be 
incomplete  were  I  to  omit  to  refer  to  one  of  their  subsidiary 


166  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

industries,  viz.,  bottling.  Large  quantities  of  beer,  ale, 
spirits,  etc.,  are  sent  out  from  the  makers  in  barrels  and  are 
bottled,  to  some  extent,  by  the  publicans,  but  to  a  larger 
extent  by  firms  who  specialize  in  this  trade.  One  Dublin 
firm  has  for  a  great  many  years  past  bottled  immense 
quantities  of  stout  and  whisky,  which  is  exported  in  bottle 
from  this  country.  So  extensive  was  their  trade  that  prior 
to  the  war  they  were  able  to  keep  a  steamer  plying  between 
Dublin  and  New  York  conveying  these  goods  to  the  U.S.A. 
Now  that  the  latter  country  has  gone  dry  the  steamer,  if  re- 
employed  in  this  trade,  will  have  to  find  other  ports  of  call. 
The  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  show  that  in  that 
year  there  were  1,181  persons  employed  in  Ireland  in  bottling 
factories  and  workshops,  that  of  these  there  were  801  male 
and  157  female  wage  earners,  and  178  male  and  45  female 
salaried  persons.  The  total  value  of  the  output  for  that  year 
was  returned  as  £693,000  :  the  cost  of  materials  used  was 
£549,000,  leaving  the  net  value  of  the  output  as  £144,000. 


6.      THE    GLASS    BOTTLE   INDUSTRY 

This  branch  is  all  that  remains  of  the  once  successful  Irish 
glass  industry.  It  has,  even  in  recent  years,  passed  through 
trying  periods,  during  which  several  of  the  smaller  concerns 
were  forced  to  close  down.  At  the  time  of  writing  there  are 
only  five  Irish  works  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  glass 
bottles,  chiefly  porter  bottles,  four  in  Dublin  and  one  in 
Belfast.  Before  the  war  German-made  bottles  were  imported 
to  a  considerable  extent  into  Ireland.  During  the  past  few 
years  serious  competitors  have  arisen  in  England,  where 
several  combines  in  this  industry  have  been  established. 
These  people  have  installed  the  latest  pattern  of  American 
automatic  machines,  which,  although  the  initial  cost  is  very 
high,  produce  bottles  so  rapidly  and  accurately  that  they 
are  easily  able  to  compete  against  the  older  method  of  bottle- 
making.  One  of  these  machines  has  been  in  use  in  the  Belfast 
works  for  a  number  of  years  past,  and  a  still  larger  one  has 
been  installed  in  one  of  the  Dublin  works.  These  latter  works 
have  now  been  acquired  by  one  of  the  English  combines — 
British  Glass  Industries  Ltd.,  which  has  an  authorized  capital 
of  £2,000,000,  of  which  £1,400,000  has  been  issued. 


BREWING,  DISTILLING,  ETC.,  INDUSTRIES  167 

That  there  is  scope  for  considerable  expansion  in  this  Irish 
industry  is  evident  from  a  perusal  of  the  following  return  of 
the  quantity  and  value  of  glass  bottles  imported  into  Ireland 
in  the  years  1904  to  1918. 


Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

Value  £. 

1904 

244,695 

85,643 

I9°5 

286,969 

100,439 

1906 

334,436 

133,774 

1907 

351,326 

140,530 

1908 

280,125 

H9,o53 

1909 

301,829 

128,277 

1910 

378,740 

160,965 

1911    I    436,280 

194,508 

1912 

418,074 

197,714 

19*3 

418,393 

197,865 

1914 

426,456 

216,782 

19*5 

306,468 

206,866 

1916 

309,542 

270,849 

1917 

194,616 

187,318 

1918 

165,410 

182,640 

My  reason  for  inserting  this  reference  to  the  Irish  glass- 
bottle  industry  in  conjunction  with  the  brewing,  etc.,  group 
is  that  it  practically  represents  a  subsidiary  branch  of  the 
brewing  and  distilling  industries,  the  manufacture  of  other 
kinds  of  bottles  being  but  an  infinitesimal  amount  of  the  total 
output  of  Irish  bottle  works. 


CHAPTER  VI 
PAPER-MAKING,   PRINTING,   ETC.,   INDUSTRIES 

I.      PAPER-MAKING 

WRITING  in  the  year  1853,  the  late  Dr.  W.  K.  Sullivan 
described  the  then  Irish  paper-making  industry  as 
being  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  few  large 
manufactures  which  we  possess.     The  Revenue  Returns  gave 
the  number  of  paper  mills  in  Ireland  in  the  year  1850  as  thirty- 
seven.    A  parliamentary  paper  published  in  1852  gave  the 
number  operating  in  that  year  as  twenty-eight.     That  the 
industry  was  progressing  at  that  period  will  be  seen  from  the 
following  Return  of  the  quantity  of  paper  made  in  Irish  mills 
in  the  years  1844  to  1852 : — 


Year. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

1844 

4,557,306 

1845 

5,562,104 

1846 

5,875,775 

1847 

5,711,546 

1848 

5,583,461 

1849 

6,272,563 

1850 

6,719,502 

1851 

6,983,646 

1852 

7,373,oi2 

In  the  course  of  time  English,  Scotch,  and  foreign  competi- 
tion became  more  severe  and  Irish  investors  showed  a  dis- 
inclination to  invest  their  money  in  Irish  paper  mills ;  one 

1 68 


PAPER-MAKING,   PRINTING,   ETC.        169 

Irish  mill  after  another  dropped  out  of  the  trade,  until  to-day 
only  six  remain.  Four  of  the  six  are  situated  in  Co.  Dublin, 
one  at  Ballyclare  and  one  at  Larne,  in  Co.  Antrim. 

The  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  show  that  in  that 
year  there  were  570  persons  engaged  in  this  industry,  made 
up  as  follows  :  Wage  Earners,  378  males  and  152  females ; 
Salaried  Persons,  31  males  and  9  females. 

The  total  value  of  the  output  in  1907  was  returned  as 
£175,000. 

Perhaps  no  Irish  industry  has  benefited  more  directly  than 
has  this  as  a  result  of  the  Irish  Industrial  Movement.  Since 
the  inauguration  of  the  Movement,  and  owing  to  the  gospel 
it  propagated — that  when  Irish  goods  are  equal  in  quality  and 
value  to  those  made  elsewhere  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Irish  people 
to  support  the  home  product — the  home  demand  for  Irish-made 
paper  has  grown  by  leaps  and  bounds.  One  of  the  best  testi- 
monies to  this  fact  is  that  of  late  years  a  number  of  paper- 
makers  elsewhere  have  attempted  to  mislead  the  public  by 
applying  Irish  titles  and  designs  to  their  non-Irish  products, 
and  legal  and  other  action  has  been  taken  by  the  Irish  Indus- 
trial Development  Association  (Incorporated)  to  put  a  stop 
to  this  extensive  and  mischievous  practice.  Another  proof 
is  that  several  of  the  existing  Irish  mills,  finding  their  trade 
increasing  so  satisfactorily,  within  the  past  fifteen  years,  were 
encouraged  to  extend  their  plant  and  machinery. 

Owing  to  the  shortage  of  external  supplies  the  paper-making 
industry  experienced  an  abnormal  demand  for  its  products 
during  the  period  of  the  war.  Consequently  Irish  mills  had 
no  difficulty  in  disposing  of  their  output  during  those  years, 
but  the  shortage  of  raw  materials  prevented  them  from 
employing  as  many  hands  as  in  pre-war  days.  Before  the 
war  practically  all  raw  materials  for  paper-making  were 
imported,  but  difficulty  in  procuring  sufficient  quantities 
during  the  war  years  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  new  trade 
in  Ireland,  or  at  any  rate  to  the  considerable  enlargement  of 
a  previously  obscure  trade,  namely,  that  of  dealing  in  waste 
books,  papers,  and  magazines.  The  price  paid  for  these  was 
sufficient  to  tempt  thousands  of  persons  to  collect  and  dispose 
of  them  in  this  way.  Whether  or  not  this  trade  will  continue, 
once  the  ordinary  supplies  become  plentiful  again,  is  a  point 
upon  which  we  decline  to  express  any  opinion. 

One  of  the  difficulties  that  hinders  the  establishment  of 


170  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

new  and  extensive  development  of  existing  Irish  paper  mills 
is  that  paper-making  machinery  costs  a  very  considerable 
amount  of  money. 

We  are  enabled,  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Irish  paper 
makers,  to  state  that  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  the 
Irish  paper-making  industry  at  the  present  date  is,  approxi- 
mately, 800. 

Following  are  some  data  regarding  paper  mills  operating  in 
Ireland  at  the  present  day  : — 

The  Swift  Brook  Mills  at  Saggart,  Co.  Dublin,  owned  by 
Messrs.  John  McDonnell  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  were  established  in  the 
year  1795,  on  the  site  of  their  present  Lower,  or  No.  2,  Mill. 
The  Upper,  or  No.  i,  Mill  was  built  in  1848,  The  classes  of 
paper  produced  in  these  mills  are  :  Banks,  loans,  bonds, 
account  book,  ledger,  writing,  typewriting,  envelope,  Irish 
Vellum,  and  printing  papers. 

The  Newbrook  Mill  at  Rathfarnham,  Co.  Dublin,  owned  by 
Messrs.  S.  Irwin  &  Son,  was  established  about  1819.  The 
classes  of  paper  produced  in  this  mill  are  :  Common,  medium, 
and  superior  (Irish  Rope)  qualities  of  brown  paper. 

The  Drimnagh  Paper  Mill x  at  Inchicore,  Co.  Dublin,  owned 
by  Mr.  George  P.  Fleming,  was  originally  built  about  300 
years  ago  by  Huguenot  immigrants.  At  what  date  it  was 
turned  into  a  paper  mill  has  not  been  definitely  ascertained, 
but  about  the  year  1700  it  was  presented,  as  a  paper  mill, 
to  a  Mr.  Sullivan  by  the  then  Lord  Lansdowne,  and  was 
worked  by  the  Sullivan  family  up  to  1890,  when  it  was  closed 
for  about  eighteen  months  and  then  re-opened.  This  mill 
now  produces  various  qualities  of  brown  wrapping  papers. 

The  Ballyclare  Mill  as  well  as  the  Inver  Mill  at  Larne,  Co. 
Antrim,  are  both  owned  by  the  North  of  Ireland  Paper  Mill 
Co.,  Ltd.  There  is  evidence  that  a  paper  mill  existed  in 
Ballyclare  prior  to  1834.  It  was  taken  over  by  the  present 
Company  about  the  year  1875,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was 
chiefly  engaged  in  producing  news  paper  of  various  qualities. 
At  the  present  day  this  mill  produces  super-calendered  print- 
ings, cream  laids  and  woves,  azure  laids,  and  bank  papers. 
The  Inver  Mill,  at  Larne,  produces  poster,  imitation  vegetable 

1  Since  writing  the  foregoing  an  extensive  fire  occurred  at  this  mill, 
on  February  14,  1920,  which  destroyed  the  main  building  and  most 
of  the  plant  and  machinery. 


PAPER-MAKING,   PRINTING,  ETC.         171 

parchment,  cream  and  coloured  casings,  railway  buffs,  cover 
and  manilla  papers. 

The  Clondalkin  (Co.  Dublin)  Mills,  owned  by  the  Irish  Paper 
Mills  Co.,  Ltd.,  produce  the  following  classes  of  paper,  viz.  : 
News,  tram-ticket  paper,  manillas,  and  printing  papers. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing  the  Killeen  Paper  Mill,  at 
Inchicore,  Co.  Dublin,  which  had  lain  idle  for  a  number  of 
years  past,  has  been  acquired  by  Mr.  J.  O.  Tools,  and  is  now 
producing  brown  papers. 


2.      THE   PRINTING   AND   ALLIED   INDUSTRIES 

"THE   PHRASE   'PRINTED   MATTER'  is   ONE  OF  THE   MOST 

COMMON  IN  DUBLIN  PARLANCE.  IF  YOU  ARE  A  SENTI- 
MENTAL TRAVELLER,  AND  GO  ABOUT  THIS  CITY  ASKING 
QUESTIONS  AND  SEEKING  INFORMATION,  YOU  WILL 
FIND  THAT  NEARLY  EVERY  ONE  YOU  MEET  HAS  '  PRINTED 
MATTER  '  WHICH  HE  BEGS  YOU  TO  TAKE  AWAY  WITH  YOU 
AND  READ  AT  YOUR  LEISURE.  AN  EXTRA  PORTMANTEAU 

is  ADVISABLE." — HAROLD  BEGBIE  i  The  Lady  Next  Door. 

Whatever  other  Irish  industries  have  declined,  one  cannot 
truthfully  assert  that  that  of  printing  has  suffered.  From 
the  earliest  records  of  the  printing-press  up  to  the  present  day 
this  industry  has  received  its  due  share  of  Irish  support. 
It  has  always  moved  with  the  times,  and  the  invention  of 
improved  printing  machines  has  been  the  signal  for  their 
adoption  in  this  country.  This,  in  turn,  has  lead  to  the 
cheapening  of  printed  matter  of  various  kinds,  to  a  conse- 
quent increased  demand  for  such  work,  and  to  a  considerable 
increase  in  the  number  of  hands  employed  in  the  industry. 
To-day,  one  need  not  go  outside  of  Ireland  to  procure  the  best 
possible  work  in  any  branch  of  the  printing  trade.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  Irish  firms  are  able,  in  open  competition,  to 
secure  orders  from  other  countries  for  work  of  the  highest 
kind  known  to  the  printing  and  bookbinding  trades. 

The  following  data  extracted  from  the  Census  of  Production 
Returns,  1907,  throw  some  light  on  the  dimensions  of  this 
industry.  The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in 


172  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

connexion  with  printing  and  bookbinding  factories  and 
workshops  in  Ireland  in  1907  was  returned  as  6,598,  made  up 
as  follows :  Wage  Earners,  3,346  males  and  2,459  females  ; 
Salaried  Persons,  622  males,  and  171  females. 

The  value  of  the  output  was  returned  as  follows  : 


BOOK   PRODUCTION    (PRINTING,    BINDING,    ETC. 

i 

Printed  Books         . .          . .         . .         . .  42,000 

Account  and  Blank  Books          . .         . .  47,000 

Printing  of  Newspapers     . .         . .         . .  28,000 

Printing      of      Magazines      and      other 

Periodicals      . .         . .         . .         . .  10,000 

"  Job  "  and  General  Printing      . .         . .  302,000 

Lithographic    and    Photo-Lithographic 

Printing                      . .         . .         . .  159,000 

BOOKBINDING. 

Printed  Books        . .         . .         . .         . .  24,000 

Account  and  Blank  Books           . .         . .  31,000 

Bookbinding  not  separately  distinguished  7,000 

Machine  Ruling      . .         . .         . .         . .  11,000 

Relief  Stamping     . .         . .         . .         . .  2,000 

Manufactured  Stationery  . .         . .         . .  5,000 

Paper  Bags             . .         . .         . .         . .  4,000 

Waste  Products      . .         . .         . .         . .  3,ooo 

Other  Products       . .         . .         . .         . .  1,000 

Amount  received  for  work  done  for  the 

trade  (Gold  Blocking,  Box-making,  etc.  12,000 

Other  work  done    . .         . .         . .         . .  126,000 


Total  Value  of  Output      . . 
Cost  of  Materials  used,  etc. 

Net  Value  of  Output 


. .  £697,000 
. .     254,000 

••  £443,-ooo 


PAPER-MAKING,   PRINTING,   ETC.          173 


NEWSPAPERS 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  factories  engaged 
in  the  printing  and  publishing  of  newspapers  and  other 
periodicals  was  returned  in  1907  as  2,900,  made  up  as  follows, 
viz. :  Wage  Earners,  1,975  males  and  202  females  ;  Salaried 
Persons,  650  males  and  73  females. 

The  value  of  the  output  of  these  factories  was  returned  as 
follows : — 


Newspapers            . .         . .         . .         . .  328,000 

Other  then   Daily    (including  Trade 

Journals)          . .         . .         . .         . .  124,000 

Magazines  and  other  Periodicals  . .         . .  10,000 

"  Job  "  and  "  General  "  Printing           . .  80,000 
Other  work  done  (Bookbinding,  Engrav- 
ing, etc.)          5,ooo 

Printing  and  Binding  of  Printed  Books  . .  2,000 

Manufactured  Stationery             . .         . .  17,000 

Waste  Products 2,000 


Total  Value  of  Output 
Cost  of  Materials  used,  etc. 

Net  Value  of  Output 


..  £568,000 
. .     167,000 

..  £401,000 


MANUFACTURED  STATIONERY  FACTORIES  AND  WORKSHOPS 


The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  this  industry, 
in  the  year  1907,  was  returned  as  799,  made  up  as  follows, 
viz.  :  Wage  Earners,  160  males  and  544  females  ;  Salaried 
Persons,  63  males  and  32  females. 


174  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  value  of  the  output  was  : — 


Manufactured  Stationery  of  Paper  or  Card- 
board,   not   separately   distinguished 
(including       notepaper,       envelopes, 
account  books,   blank  books,   cards, 
cardboard  boxes,  paper  bags,  etc.) . .     53,000 
Paper  Bags  . .         . .         . .         . .     22,000 

Cardboard  Boxes,  Ticket  and  Showcard 
Writing  and  Mounting,  and  Sundry 
Printing  . .  . .  . .  . .  4,000 


Total  Value  of  Output      . .         . .         . .  £79,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used,  etc.  . .         . .     45,000 


Net  Value  of  Output          £34,000 


CARDBOARD    BOX    FACTORIES    AND    WORKSHOPS 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  this  industry  in 
the  year  1907  was  returned  as  930,  made  up  as  follows,  viz. : 
Wage  Earners,  170  males  and  697  females  ;  Salaried  Persons, 
41  males  and  22  females. 

The  value  of  the  output  that  year  was  returned  as  follows : — 


I 

Plain  and  Fancy  Cardboard  Boxes         .  .     70,000 
Manufactured  Stationery  and  Printing.  .       3,000 
Other  Products        .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .       1,000 

Total  Value  of  Output 
Cost  of  Materials  used 

Net  Value  of  Output 

..  £74,000 
.  .     36,000 

.  .  £38,000 

PAPER-MAKING,   PRINTING,   ETC.        175 

The  reader  will  notice  that  similar  headings  appear  in  more 
than  one  of  the  foregoing  Returns.  This  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  two  or  more  branches  of  these  industries  perform  a  pro- 
portion of  the  same  class  of  work.  For  example  :  cardboard- 
boxes  are  chiefly  made  in  factories  which  confine  themselves 
to  this  one  branch,  but  these  boxes  are  also  made,  to  a  small 
extent,  by  manufacturing  stationers.  So  also  with  job  and 
general  printing.  There  are  firms  which  specialize  in  this  work, 
but  a  number  of  newspaper  concerns,  especially  in  country 
towns,  also  do  an  amount  of  such  printing.  Further,  several 
printing-houses  produce  weekly  newspapers  and  periodicals. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  necessary  to  analyse  all  the 
Returns  set  forth  in  this  section  if  the  reader  is  to  obtain  a 
comprehensive  insight  into  the  full  dimensions  of  these 
industries. 

Although  I  am  without  definite  data  as  to  the  changes  that 
have  taken  place  in  the  Irish  printing  and  allied  industries 
during  the  past  thirteen  years,  I  have  good  grounds  for  believ- 
ing that  these  industries  have  developed  to  a  satisfactory 
extent  in  the  interim.  Colour-printing,  which  is  used  so 
extensively  in  connexion  with  advertising  matter,  is  a  branch 
of  the  trade  which  has  progressed  considerably  in  this  country 
in  recent  years,  and  the  printing  of  books  is  increasing  yearly. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  LEATHER  GROUP 

I.      TANNING 

LEATHER  and  whisky  are  two  of  the  most  important 
branches  of  manufacture  in  this  country,  considering 
the  immense  amount  of  labour  which  is  employed  in 
their  production.  So  wrote  John  Francis  Maguire  in  the  year 
1853.  At  that  time  there  were  sixteen  tanneries  at  work  in 
the  city  of  Cork,  some  years  earlier  there  had  been  forty. 
Tanneries  were  also  operating  in  the  following  places  in 
Ireland :  Ballytore  (Co.  Kildare)  ;  Bandon  (Co.  Cork)  ; 
Belfast ;  Carrickfergus  (Co.  Antrim)  ;  Clonmel  (Co.  Tip- 
perary)  ;  Coleraine  (Co.  Derry)  ;  Downpatrick  (Co.  Down)  ; 
Drogheda  (Co.  Louth)  ;  Dublin  ;  Dunmanway  (Co.  Cork)  ; 
Galway  ;  Kilkenny  ;  Limerick  ;  Lisburn  (Co.  Antrim) ; 
Newry  (Co.  Down)  ;  New  Ross  (Co.  Wexford)  ;  Richhill 
(Co.  Armagh)  ;  Waterford  and  Wexford. 

I  shall  briefly  trace  some  of  the  causes  that,  combined, 
led  to  the  decline  of  this  previously  important  Irish  industry. 
The  first  of  these  was  the  famine  of  1846-48,  which  not  alone 
exterminated  a  large  section  of  the  Irish  people  and  caused 
extensive  emigration  from  these  shores,1  but  left  those  who 
remained  in  Ireland  in  such  an  abject  state  of  poverty  that 
articles  such  as  footwear  became  a  luxury  not  to  be  indulged 
in  by  the  masses  of  the  people.  Consequently  the  Irish 
tanner  was  deprived,  for  the  time  being,  of  the  main  outlet 
for  his  manufactures — Irish  banks  were  then  only  in  their 

1  From  1846  to  1851,  one  million  and  a  quarter  of  the  population 
"  emigrated,"  and  in  the  next  nine  years  they  were  followed,  thanks 
to  the  same  causes,  by  another  million  and  a  half.  During  the  same 
period  373,000  families  were  evicted  from  their  holdings  to  provide 
room  for  a  handful  of  graziers."  Professor  R.  M.  Henry:  The  Evolution 
of  Sinn  Fein,  p.  22. 

176 


THE  LEATHER  GROUP  OF  INDUSTRIES  177 

youth  and  they  withheld  the  necessary  accommodation  to 
enable  him  to  tide  over  this  crisis.  About  the  same  time  newer 
methods  of  tanning  were  introduced  into  other  countries. 
The  Irish  method  required  that  the  material  should  remain 
in  the  pits  for  from  nine  to  twelve  months — all  the  time  absorb- 
ing expensive  liquid  and  locking  up  capital.  The  new  method 
occupied  a  far  briefer  period,  required  less  capital,  and  enabled 
the  tanner  to  give  his  customers  not  alone  a  less  expensive 
article  but  longer  credit.  The  Irish  method  produced  a  vastly 
superior  article,  so  far  as  its  quality  was  concerned,  but  the 
price  of  the  rapid-tanned  leather  appealed  to  the  attenuated 
purses  of  the  populace.  Almost  concurrently  with  the  intro- 
duction of  lower-priced  leather  the  manufacture  in  England 
of  factory-made  boots  and  shoes  grew  extensively.  The 
produce  of  these  factories  was  not  long  in  finding  its  way  into 
Ireland,  and  a  further  reduction  in  the  demand  for  Irish- 
tanned  leather  resulted,  the  Irish  maker  of  hand-made  boots 
having  been  the  chief  user  of  the  latter  leather.  He,  too, 
since  those  years,  has  lost  ground,  and  his  chief  occupation 
to-day  is  the  repairing,  not  making,  of  boots  and  shoes. 

It  is  obvious  from  the  foregoing  statements  that  two  things 
might  have  saved  the  Irish  tanning  industry,  but  neither  of 
them  were  adopted  in  Lime.  They  were  :  Firstly,  that  our 
tanners  should  have  moved  with  the  times,  pocketed  their 
pride  in  the  superiority  of  their  leather  and  produced  the  kinds 
of  leather  for  which  there  was  a  popular  demand ;  and, 
secondly,  the  introduction  of  the  factory  system  of  boot 
manufacture  into  Ireland  should  have  taken  place  without 
the  years  of  delay  that  occurred.  One  further  reason  which,  I 
think,  had  much  to  do  with  the  decline  of  the  Irish  tanning 
industry  in  modern  times  was  summed  up  by  an  eminent 
Irish  writer  who,  writing  in  the  year  1853,  in  referring  to  the 
tanners  of  that  period  said  :  (They)  being  in  many  cases 
tanners  by  accident,  and  usually  gentlemen  by  profession,  and 
knowing  just  that  the  skin  of  animals  and  the  infusion  of  bark 
make  leather,  but  considering  the  process  by  which  it  is  made  to 
be  the  peculiar  domain  of  the  workman. 

We  shall  now  pass  on  to  the  recent  position  of  this  industry, 
which  offers  a  more  pleasing  perspective.  The  Census  of 
Production  Returns,  1907,  gave  the  total  number  of  persons 
employed  in  the  industry  in  that  year  as  193. 

12 


178  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

The  Value  of  the  Output  was  returned  as £71,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used  46,000 


Net  Value  of  Output £25,000 

Since  then  there  has  been  a  pronounced  improvement, 
several  Irish  firms  having  largely  increased  their  plant  and 
adopted  up-to-date  methods  of  tanning  hides  and  skins. 
To-day  there  are  three  Irish  tanneries  whose  chief  output  is 
sole-leather,  whilst  these  and  eight  others  also  produce  harness 
leather.  Generally  speaking,  the  hides  used  are  Irish,  and 
the  product,  so  far  as  harness  leather  is  concerned,  is  made  up 
into  harness  in  Ireland.  A  large  proportion  of  the  sole  leather 
is  exported.  Very  little  upper  leather  is  tanned  in  Ireland, 
but  one  Irish  firm  specializes  in  tanning  book  binding  leather. 
The  chief  credit  for  having  developed  this  Irish  industry  in 
recent  years  is  due  to  Messrs.  E.  O'Callaghan  &  Sons,  Ltd., 
of  the  City  Tannery,  Limerick,  who  are  now  by  far  the  largest 
tanners  of  hides  and  skins  in  this  country,  and  who  have 
displayed  commendable  enterprise  in  keeping  abreast  of 
the  times  and  in  consistently  extending  their  output.  An 
enterprising  and  public-spirited  gentleman  in  the  city  of 
Cork  (Mr.  R.  H.  Beamish)  has  recently  purchased  the  old- 
established  tannery  which  was  carried  on  for  so  many  years 
by  members  of  the  Dunn  family  and,  at  the  time  of  writing,  is, 
I  understand,  converting  it  into  a  thoroughly  up-to-date  con- 
cern. This  gives  promise  of  a  re-birth  of  the  industry  in  Cork, 
which  for  generations  was  the  principal  centre  of  the  Irish  tan- 
ning industry.  The  existing  Irish  tanneries,  according  to  a  re- 
liable estimate,  employ  nearly  500  hands.  They  are  situated 
in  Ballytore  (Co.  Kildare) ;  Belfast ;  Clonmel  (Co.  Tipperary) ; 
Cork  ;  Dublin  ;  Dunmanway  (Co.  Cork)  ;  Limerick  (2) ; 
New  Ross  (Co.  Wexford)  ;  Richhill  (Co.  Armagh)  ;  and 
Thomastown  (Co.  Kilkenny)  (2). 


2.      SADDLERY  J    HARNESS  ;    AND    CART-GEAR    INDUSTRY 

The  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  gave  the  number 
of  persons  employed  in  this  industry  in  Ireland  as  505,  viz., 
489  males  and  16  females. 


THE  LEATHER  GROUP  OF  INDUSTRIES  179 

The  Total  Value  of  the  Output  was £53>ooo 

Cost  of  Materials  used  24,000 

Net  Value  of  Output £29,000 

There  are  no  reliable  data  obtainable  as  to  what,  if  any, 
progress  has  taken  place  in  this  industry  in  the  intervening 
years. 

3.   THE  BOOT  AND  SHOE  INDUSTRY 

Although  Ireland  was  slow  to  adopt  the  manufacture  of 
boots  and  shoes  by  means  of  machinery,  fair  progress  has 
been  made  in  this  industry  in  recent  years.  Several  well 
equipped  factories  have  been  established  and  have  proved 
themselves  to  be  profit-making  concerns.  In  addition  to 
the  larger  of  these  a  number  of  minor  ones  are  scattered 
throughout  the  country,  and  together  they  provide  a  continu- 
ally increasing  amount  of  employment.  There  are  no  later 
data  available  concerning  this  industry  than  those  provided 
by  the  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907,  which  showed 
that  the  industry,  at  that  date,  gave  employment  to  2,113 
workpeople,  viz.,  1,648  males  and  465  females. 

The  Total  Value  of  the  Output  was £265,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used,  etc 148,000 


Net  Value  of  Output £117,000 

Since  then  additional  factories  have  been  established  and 
several  of  the  older  ones  have  been  extended.  Consequently, 
it  is  obvious  that  this  industry  now  gives  employment  to  a 
larger  number  of  hands  and  the  value  of  its  output  must  have 
increased  considerably.  The  Irish  manufacturers  have 
wisely  confined  themselves  to  the  manufacture  of  reliable 
boots  and  shoes  ;  they  have  not  attempted  to  produce  goods 
made  from  leather  substitutes,  as  is  done  by  many  cross- 
channel  firms.  This  policy  has  earned  a  high  reputation 
for  their  products  and  has  enabled  them  to  compete,  with  the 
most  satisfactory  results,  in  the  home  market  against  their 
outside  competitors.  That  there  is  still  room  in  Ireland  for  a 
vast  extension  of  this  industry  is  illustrated  by  the  following 
Return  of  the  quantity  and  value  of  boots  and  shoes  imported 
into  Ireland  during  the  years  1904-18  : — 


180  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


TABLE  OF  IMPORTS  OF    BOOTS  AND 

SHOES. 

Year. 

Quantity  Cwts. 

Value  £. 

1904 

136,526 

1,447,176 

1905 

140,447 

1,544,917 

1906 

149.673 

1,696,294 

1907 

147,079 

1,728,178 

1908 

151,160 

1>75o,937 

1909 

156,841 

1,791,908 

igiO 

165,291 

1,884,317 

1911 

155,185 

1,734,192 

1912 

166,842 

1,714,302 

19*3 

158,485 

1,673,998 

1914 

166,838 

1,806,021 

19*5 

156,219 

1,796,519 

1916 

159,322 

1,982,231 

1917 

130,150 

2,039,017 

1918 

153,286 

3,663,535 

Most  of  the  boots  and  shoes  imported  into  Ireland  are  for 
women's  and  children's  wear,  and  are,  generally  speaking, 
what  may  be  termed  of  a  more  stylish  pattern  than  those 
produced  in  this  country.  So  far  Irish  manufacturers  have 
confined  the  greater  part  of  their  output  to  men's  boots  and 
shoes  and  to  the  less  stylish  patterns  of  women's  and 
children's.  There  exists  a  splendid  opening  in  Ireland  for  a 
boot  factory  properly  equipped  and  with  the  requisite  expert 
staff  necessary  to  produce  the  highest  class  of  boots  and  shoes. 
Such  an  industry,  provided  it  supplied  goods  equal  in  quality 
and  price  to  those  imported,  would  be  certain  of  securing  a 
decided  preference  for  its  products  from  Irish  customers,  it 
would  find  Irish  workpeople  easy  to  train,  and  it  should  not 
be  long  before  it  would  earn  a  satisfactory  dividend. 

At  the  present  day  Irish  boot  and  shoe  factories  are  situated 
in  the  following  amongst  other  districts,  namely :  Belfast, 
Carlow,  Cork,  Dublin,  Dundalk,  Enniscorthy,  Galway, 
Killarney,  Kilkelly  (Co.  Mayo),  Lisburn  (Co.  Antrim), 
Londonderry,  Longford,  Portadown,  Sligo,  and  Waterford. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  TOBACCO   INDUSTRIES 

I.      TOBACCO   MANUFACTURES 

THE  Irish  tobacco  industry  consists  of  two  sections: 
(i)  the  manufacture  from  imported  leaf  (and  to  a 
comparatively  small  extent  from  Irish-grown  leaf) 
of  cigars,  cigarettes,  and  pipe-tobacco ;  and  (2)  the  growing  of 
tobacco.  About  seventeen  factories  are  engaged  in  the  first 
mentioned  section  of  this  industry ;  four  of  them  may  be 
described  as  fairly  large  concerns,  whilst  one  of  the  four — that 
owned  by  Messrs.  Gallagher,  Ltd.,  of  Belfast — is  one  of 
the  largest  tobacco  factories  in  the  world.  The  remaining 
thirteen,  whilst  varying  in  size  and  in  the  number  of  work- 
people they  employ,  only  rank  as  comparatively  small  con- 
cerns. 

For  nearly  twenty  years  past  this  Irish  industry  has  had  to 
meet  the  competition  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  combines 
in  Great  Britain — (The  Imperial  Tobacco  Company  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  Limited) — a  combination  of  most  of  the 
largest  and  best-known  tobacco  producers  in  Great  Britain, 
with  an  issued  capital  of  £15,647,000.  Such  an  organization 
as  this  must  naturally  prove  a  formidable  competitor,  and 
this  fact  largely  explains  why  the  Irish  firms  have  been  unable 
to  increase  their  output  to  a  greater  extent  in  recent  years. 

There  are  no  data  available  to  show  the  amount  of  Irish 
manufactured  tobacco  produced  or  consumed  in  Ireland,  but 
the  following  return  shows  the  dimensions  of  one  section  of 
this  industry. 

iSi 


182   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


STATEMENT  SHOWING  THE  TOTAL    QUANTITY  AND   ESTI- 

MATED     VALUE      OF      TOBACCO,     MANUFACTURED      AND 

UNMANUFACTURED,  EXPORTED    FROM   IRELAND    IN    EACH 

OF   THE   YEARS    1904    TO   1918. 

MANUFACTURED. 

UNMANUFACTURED. 

Year. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  £. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  £. 

1904 

4,554.726 

302,462 

888,216! 

24,574 

I9°5 

5,275,558 

350,330 

1,499,496! 

40,299 

1906 

5,810,447 

385,850 

1,193,046! 

31,964 

1907 

6,152,943 

384,559 

i,i36,5931 

35,376 

1908 

6,451,888 

403,243 

1,768,513! 

57,403 

1909 

7,292,891 

455,806 

1,799,756! 

54,703 

1910 

7,550,598 

471,912 

723,652 

22,624 

1911 

7,744,710 

484,044 

902,069 

30,539 

1912 

8,208,8lO 

513,051 

705,414 

26,453 

1913 

8,098,378 

506,149 

772,488 

31,962 

1914 

8,295,537 

518,471 

811,633 

32,973 

1915 

8,922,810 

557,676 

1,278,990 

34,639 

1916 

8,739,248 

873,925 

1,461,699 

48,723 

1917 

8,600,939 

1,075,117 

1,767,961 

132,597 

1918 

7,670,169 

1,214,443 

1,612,072 

124,264 

It  is  interesting  to  contrast  the  figures  of  our  Imports  of 
these  commodities  with  those  of  our  exports,  and  the  following 
table  will  enable  the  reader  to  do  so  : — 


1  Tobacco    Stalks    and    Waste    under    Unmanufactured     Tobacco 
prior  to  1910. 


TOBACCO  INDUSTRIES 


183 


STATEMENT  SHOWING    THE  TOTAL  QUANTITY  AND   ESTI- 

MATED     VALUE       OF      TOBACCO,     MANUFACTURED      AND 

UNMANUFACTURED,    IMPORTED    INTO    IRELAND    IN    EACH 

OF   THE    YEARS  1904  TO  IQlS. 

MANUFACTURED. 

UNMANUFACTURED. 

Year 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  £. 

Quantity  Ibs. 

Value  £. 

1904 

2,260,541 

291,987 

14,296,934 

395,549 

1905 

2,250,OO2 

290,625 

9,943,307 

267,226 

1906 

2,577,884 

332,977 

13,097,789 

35o,9!2 

1907 

2,057,708 

265,787 

10,622,771 

330,634 

1908 

3,079,524 

397,772 

11,374,445 

369,196 

1909 

2,860,284 

369,453 

12,977,483 

378,5io 

1910 

3,189,312 

4H,953 

14,183,918 

443,247 

1911 

3,i55,7I2 

407,613 

13,931,626 

348,291 

1912 

4,031,496 

520,735 

15,884,015 

430,192 

1913 

4,687,116 

605,419 

9,234,752 

230,869 

1914 

5,346,348 

690,750 

12,980,192 

365,068 

1915 

4,649,064 

600,504 

19,136,878 

518,290 

1916 

4,759,944 

614,826 

12,263,370 

408,779 

1917 

5,349,960 

869,369 

4,466,198 

334,965 

1918 

3,957,660 

8o8,022 

11,391,669 

878,108 

The  principal  Irish  tobacco  factories  are  situated  in 
Belfast  (2),  Dublin  (4),  and  Dundalk  (Co.  Louth)  ;  whilst 
others  are  situated  in  Bagnalstown  (Co.  Carlow),  Cork  (2), 
Dungarvan  (Co.  Waterford),  Limerick  (4),  Londonderry,  and 
Waterford. 

The  chief  output  of  most  of  the  Irish  factories  is  pipe- 
tobacco  ;  several  of  them  also  produce  large  quantities  of 
cigarettes,  and  cigars  form  a  small  proportion  of  the  output 
of  a  few  of  these  concerns.  At  one  time  snuff-making  was 
a  profitable  side-line,  but  this  trade,  although  still  carried  on 
by  some  of  the  firms,  no  longer  ranks  as  an  important  branch 
of  the  industry. 


184  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


2.      IRISH-GROWN   TOBACCO 

The  first  tobacco  reputed  to  have  been  grown  in  Europe 
was  that  which  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  is  credited  with  having 
planted  hi  his  garden  at  Youghal,  Co.  Cork.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century  this  plant  was  extensively 
cultivated  throughout  the  country,  but  an  Act  of  the  British 
Parliament,  passed  in  1830,  prohibited  the  cultivation  of 
tobacco  in  Ireland,  and  from  that  year  to  1907  this  one-time 
profitable  industry  ceased  to  exist  in  the  land.  In  1907  an 
Act  repealing  all  the  statutes  prohibiting  the  cultivation 
of  tobacco  hi  Ireland  was  passed,  experiments  upon  a  small 
scale  having  proved  that  tobacco  of  good  quality  could  be 
produced  here.  These  experiments  were  commenced  in  1898 
by  Col.  Sir  Nugent  T.  Everard,  Bart.,  at  Randlestown,  in  the 
County  of  Meath — by  special  licence  from  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer — and  were  continued,  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical  Instruction 
for  Ireland,  from  the  year  1900  for  the  three  subsequent 
years — tobacco  being  planted  in  practically  all  parts  of  Ireland 
with  successful  results. 

In  1903  the  then  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  (Mr.  Austin 
Chamberlain),  having  been  approached  by  Sir  John  Butcher, 
M.P.,  and  the  late  Captain  William  Redmond,  M.P.,  decided 
to  give  the  experiment  full  scope,  and  allowed  a  rebate  of  one- 
third  of  the  duty  upon  all  tobacco  sold.  Under  considerable 
difficulties  Sir  Nugent  Everard  cropped  an  area  of  twenty 
acres  with  tobacco ;  the  result,  which  was  considered  to  be 
most  successful,  being  mainly  due  to  the  kind  assistance  of 
Professor  Harpor,  of  Kentucky  Agricultural  College,  who 
personally  superintended  the  harvesting  and  curing  operations. 
In  the  following  year  a  co-operative  tobacco-growing  society 
was  formed  in  Wexf ord,  whilst  the  Earl  of  Dunraven,  at  Adare, 
the  late  Captain  the  Hon.  Otway  Cuff e,  at  Kilkenny,  and  other 
enterprising  landowners  helped  to  extend  the  industry,  and 
the  produce  was  sold  to  manufacturers  at  a  remunerative  price. 

In  1908  the  then  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  (Mr.  Lloyd 
George)  converted  the  preference  of  one  shilling  per  Ib.  into 
an  annual  subsidy  of  £50  per  acre  ;  this  was  subsequently, 
in  1913,  reduced  to  £25  per  acre  and  limited  to  the  so-called 
experimenters — Lord  Dunraven  and  Sir  Nugent  Everard. 


TOBACCO  INDUSTRIES  185 

The  scheme,  which  was  approved  finally  by  the  Development 
Commission,  provided  that  the  experimenters  should  erect 
at  their  own  cost  a  rehandling  tobacco  factory  equipped 
with  the  most  up-to-date  machinery,  and  provide  a  certain 
number  of  growers  (the  greater  number  of  whom  were  to  be 
small  farmers)  with  the  necessary  instruction,  curing  barns, 
etc.,  for  the  crop.  They  were  also  required  to  provide  a 
cash  market  for  the  growers'  tobacco  at  a  price  fixed,  by  a 
Liverpool  tobacco  broker,  on  the  basis  of  American  leaf. 
The  experiment  was  limited  to  an  area  of  114  acres  at  each 
centre,  although  the  capacity  of  each  rehandling  factory 
was  equal  to,  at  least,  1,000  acres. 

The  greatly  increased  cost  of  labour  and  the  competition 
of  other  crops  (for  which  the  State  guaranteed  a  minimum 
price)  made  tobacco-growing  a  somewhat  speculative  under- 
taking for  the  past  few  years,  but  the  preferential  duty  on 
Imperial  tobacco  included  in  the  Finance  Act  of  1919, 
equivalent  to  a  rebate  of  is.  6d.  per  lb.,  makes  the  prospect 
of  a  large  profit  on  Irish-grown  tobacco  almost  certain.  The 
Industry  now  only  awaits  development  by  adequately 
capitalized  companies  to  become  a  source  of  great  wealth  to 
the  country  and  of  employment  to  many  thousands  of  men 
and  women  workers  and  children  of  both  sexes.  At  the  time 
of  writing  a  scheme  is  on  foot  to  organize  this  industry  on 
a  large  scale,  and  if  it  is  proceeded  with  there  is  reason  to  antici- 
pate a  very  considerable  development  in  the  course  of  the 
next  few  years  in  the  growing  of  this  crop  in  Ireland. 

For  a  number  of  years  past  Sir  Nugent  Everard  has  con- 
ducted a  factory  in  Dublin,  under  the  title  of  The  Irish 
Tobacco  Co.,  Ltd.,  where  pipe-tobacco,  as  well  as  several 
well-known  brands  of  cigarettes  and  cigars,  are  manufactured 
from  Irish-grown  leaf.  Lord  Dunraven,  also,  has  conducted 
a  similar  factory  at  Adare,  Co.  Limerick,  at  which  cigarettes 
are  made  from  Irish-grown  leaf,  and  the  products  of  both 
these  factories  have  acquired  a  high  reputation.  , 

Appendix  IV  (see  pp.  300-302)  contains  a  series  of  Tables 
showing  the  acreage  under  this  crop,  from  year  to  year  since 
the  date  of  the  revival  of  the  industry,  as  well  as  other 
interesting  information  concerning  this  crop.  I  desire  to 
record  my  indebtedness  to  Mr.  G.  N.  Keller,  the  Department's 
Tobacco  Expert,  who  specially  compiled  these  Tables  for  the 
purpose  of  this  volume. 


186   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


3.      THE   TOBACCO-PIPE   INDUSTRY 

The  origin  of  the  Irish  clay  tobacco-pipe  industry  dates 
back  to  many  years  anterior  to  the  period  covered  by  the 
present  volume.  At  one  time  it  was  the  means  of  giving 
employment  to  a  considerable  number  of  workpeople,  but  of 
late  years  it  has  fallen  upon  bad  days,  owing  to  the  demand 
for  this  class  of  pipe  having  become  extremely  limited. 
Dublin,  Cork,  and  a  few  other  districts  in  Ireland,  still  possess 
small  clay-pipe  industries,  but  the  total  number  of  persons 
employed  in  them  is  insignificant  as  compared  with  that  which 
obtained  a  generation  or  two  earlier.  However,  although 
this  must  be  ranked  as  one  of  Ireland's  declining  industries, 
it  is  satisfactory  to  be  able  to  record  the  fact  that  the  manu- 
facture of  briar  tobacco  pipes  has  been  a  rapidly  increasing 
Irish  industry  for  many  years  past.  About  forty-five  years 
ago  Mr.  Charles  Peterson,  the  inventor  of  the  world-famous 
Peterson  Patent  Pipe,  commenced  manufacturing  briar-wood 
and  meerschaum  pipes  in  Dublin.  At  first  the  trade  was 
confined  to  the  making  of  special  pipes  for  individual 
customers,  but,  ere  long,  the  demand  became  so  great  that 
Mr.  Kapp,  of  Grafton  Street,  Dublin,  who  had  afforded  the 
opportunity  to  Mr.  Peterson  of  carrying  on  this  work,  decided 
to  extend  the  trade,  and  in  this  way  the  foundations  of  the 
present  extensive  business  of  Messrs.  Kapp  &  Peterson,  Ltd., 
were  laid.  At  the  present  day  this  Dublin  industry  gives 
employment  to  a  considerable  number  of  workpeople,  both 
male  and  female,  its  pipes  rank  as  the  finest  procurable, 
its  factory  is  perfectly  constructed  and  equipped,  and  its 
products  are  in  world-wide  demand.  In  fact,  they  are  as 
well-known  and  appreciated  in  Great  Britain,  Canada,  South 
Africa,  and  other  countries  abroad,  as  they  are  in  the  country 
of  their  origin,  the  major  portion  of  the  output  of  the  factory 
being  exported  from  Ireland. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    SOAP,    CANDLE,    AND   FERTILIZER 
INDUSTRIES 

I.      SOAP   AND   CANDLE   INDUSTRIES 

THESE   Irish  industries  had,  undoubtedly,  progressed 
to  a  fairly  satisfactory  extent  from  the  middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century  up  to  some    years  ago,  but 
there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  they  are  continuing  to 
do   so.      Several    Irish  firms   manufacture  both   soap   and 
candles;   whilst  others  confine  their  output  to  one,  but  not 
both  of  these  products.     Altogether  there  are  about  eighteen 
Irish  firms  in  these  industries  and  their  works  are  situated  in 
the  following  districts,  namely :   Belfast,  Cork,  Donoghmore 
(Co.  Tyrone),  Dublin,  Limerick,  and  Londonderry. 

These  Irish  industries  have  suffered  severely  in  recent  years 
owing  to  the  competition  of  a  combine  in  England  which, 
being  possessed  of  an  issued  capital  of  about  £30,000,000,  is 
able  to  control  the  markets  for  raw  materials  and,  therefore, 
buy  cheaper  than  the  smaller  Irish  firms.  Producing  on 
such  a  gigantic  scale  as  it  does  its  cost  of  production  is  far 
less  than  that  of  Irish  firms  ;  consequently  it  is  able  to  under- 
cut these  latter  in  their  selling  prices.  Faced  with  these 
handicaps,  a  number  of  Irish  soap  and  candle  manufacturers 
have  thrown  in  their  lot  with  this  combine  and  have  become 
what  is  known  as  Associated  firms ;  that  is  to  say,  they 
continue  to  manufacture  in  Ireland,  but  are  a  part  of  the 
English  amalgamation,  and  are  governed  by  the  regulations 
laid  down  by  the  latter.  Obviously,  this  is  not  a  healthy 
state  of  affairs  so  far  as  Ireland  is  concerned.  It  means  that, 
should  the  cross-channel  combine  decide  at  any  time  to  close 
the  Irish  factories,  they  possess  the  power  to  do  so.  Further, 
such  a  control  does  away  with  the  prospect  of  the  controlled 

187 


188  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

firms  in  Ireland  developing  an  export  trade.  The  table  of 
Imports  and  Exports,  which  appears  further  on,  throws  a 
vivid  light  upon  this  side  of  the  question. 

According  to  the  Census  of  Production  Returns,  1907, 
the  total  value  of  the  output  of  Irish  soap  and  candle  factories 
in  that  year  was  returned  as  £338,000,  the  cost  of  materials 
used  amounted  to  £257,000,  whilst  the  net  value  of  the  output 
was  £81,000. 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed  was  returned  as 
573,  made  up  as  follows,  viz.  :  Wage  Earners,  382  males 
and  98  females ;  Salaried  Persons,  89  males  and  4  females. 

The  following  Return  shows  the  quantity  of  Soap  and 
Candles  imported  into  and  exported  from  Ireland  in  the  years 
1904-18  : — 


IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS. 

Soap. 

Candles. 

Soap. 

Candles. 

"War 

Quantity 

Quantity 

Quantity 

Quantity 

1  Cell  . 

Cwts. 

Cwts. 

Cwts. 

Cwts. 

1904 

141,520 

65,694 

38,66l 

5,443 

1905 

134,178 

6o,66l 

39,080 

5,287 

1906 

142,982 

63,337 

39,845 

4,972 

1907 

141,645 

67,102 

29,406 

5,568 

1908 

158,314 

64,347 

33,567 

5,822 

1909 

174,709 

68,973 

36,028 

4,850 

I9IO 

175,456 

68,103 

44,672 

4,880 

I9II 

192,114 

74,266 

42,045 

4,196 

1912 

183,720 

80,355 

27,39* 

3,881 

1913 

207,235 

74,973 

22,655 

3,630 

1914 

196,266 

86,405 

20,956 

4,853 

1915 

204,328 

84,787 

21,690 

7,i4i 

I9l6 

214,771 

75,278 

24,185 

io,597 

1917 

192,862 

63,602 

35,769 

22,768 

1918 

187,114 

53,392 

34,478 

10,332 

SOAP,   CANDLE  AND  FERTILIZER        189 

The  total  estimated  value  of  the  soap  and  candles  imported 
into  Ireland  in  the  fifteen  years  mentioned  above  was 
£5,687,835,  being  an  average  of  £379,189  per  annum  :  and  of 
the  soap  and  candles  exported  from  Ireland  £934,506,  being  an 
average  of  £62,300  per  annum. 


2.      THE   FERTILIZER   INDUSTRY 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Ireland's  main  industry  is  agricul- 
ture, it  is  but  natural  that  she  should  possess  a  fairly  extensive 
artificial  manure  industry.  At  the  present  day  there  are 
about  twenty  factories — large  and  small — engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  fertilizers.  They  are  situated  in  the  following 
districts,  viz.  :  Belfast,  Cork,  Donoghmore  (Co.  Tyrone), 
Drogheda  (Co.  Louth),  Dublin,  Galway,  Londonderry, 
and  Waterford. 

No  up-to-date  data  are  available  to  show  the  present  dimen- 
sions of  this  Industry,  but  the  Census  of  Production,  1907, 
Returns,  contained  the  following  particulars  as  to  the  industry 
at  that  date,  viz.  :  The  total  number  of  persons  employed 
was  given  as  1,242,  made  up  as  follows :  Wage  Earners, 
1,078  males  and  57  females ;  Salaried  Persons,  98  males  and 
9  females. 

The  Total  Value  of  the  Output  was £549,000 

Cost  of  Materials  used    369,000 


Net  Value  of  Output    £180,000 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  increase  in  tillage  in 
Ireland  during  the  past  few  years,  and  the  more  general 
application  of  fertilizers  to  the  soil  which  has  been  practised 
in  recent  times,  have  enabled  this  Irish  industry  to  increase 
its  production  since  1907,  and  if  the  actual  facts  were  available 
it  would  probably  be  found  that  employment  is  given  to  a 
larger  number  of  workpeople  now  than  at  that  date.  As 
well  as  supplying  a  big  share  of  the  home  market,  Irish  ferti- 


190  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

lizer  manufacturers  have  a  satisfactory  export  trade.  The 
kindred  industries  of  cattle-foods,  sheep-dips,  etc.,  are  fairly 
well  established  in  Ireland,  and  are  securing  an  increasing 
proportion  of  the  Irish  Trade. 


CHAPTER  X 
MISCELLANEOUS   INDUSTRIES 

A  CONSIDERABLE  number  of  other    industries  exist 
in  Ireland  besides  those  referred  to  in  the  preced- 
ing pages.     Some   of  these   give   employment  to  a 
satisfactory  number  of  persons,  whilst  others,  though  not 
employing   many  workpeople,  are  valuable  industrial  units 
in  the  economic  life  of  the  country. 


I.      FOOD    GROUP 


About  half-a-dozen  factories  in  the  South  of  Ireland  pro- 
duce Condensed  Milk.  Some  idea  of  the  size  of  this  industry 
can  be  gleaned  from  the  fact  that  in  the  years  1917-18 
Ireland's  imports  and  exports  of  this  commodity  were  as 
follows  : — 


IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS. 

Year. 

Quantity 
Cwts. 

Value  £. 

Quantity 
Cwts. 

Value  £. 

1917 
1918 

36,966 
68,829 

133,078 
289,082 

237,278 
269,914 

854,201 
1,204,437 

Bee-keeping  is  an  industry  which  is  extending  in  Ireland 
and  is  receiving  a  good  deal  of  expert  attention.  The  home 
market  consumes  the  greater  amount  of  the  Irish  product, 
but  the  following  additional  quantities  of  honey  were  exported 
from  Ireland  in  the  years  1913-18  : — 

191 


192  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


EXPORT   OF   HONEY. 

Year. 

Quantity 
Cwts. 

Value  £. 

1913 

1,706 

4,606 

1914 

1,855 

4,869 

19*5 

2,350 

5,875 

1916 

1,051 

4,204 

1917 

1,886 

14,569 

1918 

2,785 

25,993 

The  following,  as  well  as  other  food-stuffs,  are  produced  in 
Ireland,  viz.  :  Confectionery,  sweets,  chocolates,  jams, 
marmalades,  jelly  squares,  preserved  fruits,  dessicated  soups, 
and  coffee  preparations. 


2.      ART   INDUSTRIES 

There  has  been  a  satisfactory  revival  in  Irish  Art  Industries 
for  some  years  past.  Several  of  these  have  performed  valuable 
work  by  keeping  alive  and  extending  the  fame  of  Irish  arts 
and  crafts.  The  fame  of  the  Irish  worker  in  gold  and  silver 
dates  back  to  early  times,  and  has  continued  through  the 
centuries  up  to  our  own  day.  Few  countries  excel  in  beauty 
of  design  and  perfection  of  execution  articles  produced  by  the 
leading  Irish  gold  and  silversmiths.  Hand-made  jewellery 
and  enamel  work  are  also  designed  and  made  by  small  groups 
of  workers  hi  various  parts  of  Ireland.  These  articles,  too, 
are  of  very  high  quality,  and  the  makers  find  no  difficulty 
in  disposing  of  them  both  in  Ireland  and  abroad.  An  Irish 
art  industry  which  has  moved  into  the  front  rank  is  that  of 
stained-glass.  Whilst  several  Irish  works  produce  this 
article,  the  chief  credit  of  having  won  a  high  reputation  for 
Irish  stained-glass  is  due  to  Miss  Purser,  of  Dublin.  The  artists 
associated  with  this  lady's  industry  have  designed  and  exe- 
cuted stained-glass  windows  for  numerous  churches  and 
other  buildings,  not  alone  in  Ireland,  but  in  many  countries 


MISCELLANEOUS   INDUSTRIES  193 

throughout  Europe  and  in  America.  Miss  Purser,  when  she 
established  the  Industry,  aimed  at  affording  Irish  artists  an 
opportunity  of  developing  their  art  to  the  highest  stage  of 
perfection.  The  present  writer  is  not  qualified  to  express 
an  expert  opinion  as  to  whether  or  not  this  stage  has  yet  been 
reached,  but  qualified  critics  have  bestowed  unstinted  praise 
upon  the  work  executed  by  these  artists.  A  later-comer  into 
the  community  of  Irish  stained-glass  artists  is  Mr.  Harry 
Clarke,  of  Dublin,  who,  within  recent  years,  has  designed  and 
executed  a  number  of  very  beautiful  stained-glass  windows. 
The  perfection  of  his  work  has  placed  him  high  amongst  the 
leading  European  artists  in  this  category.  In  another  con- 
nexion, that  of  illustrator  of  famous  stories,  Mr.  Clarke  has 
won  the  plaudits  of  the  critics  and  the  appreciation  of  lovers 
of  beautiful  books.  Another  Irish  art  industry  deserving  of 
special  mention  is  the  Cuala  Industry,  conducted  by  the  Misses 
Yeats  at  Dundrum,  Co.  Dublin,  where  the  hand-printing  of 
delightful  editions  of  famous  literature  is  carried  on.  Calen- 
dars, Christmas  and  other  cards,  are  also  designed  and  hand- 
printed at  this  industry,  whilst  another  section  devotes  itself 
to  the  production  of  the  highest  quality  art  needlework, 
in  original  designs.  This  latter  work,  as  well  as  the  making 
of  vestments,  banners,  regalia,  hand-made  lingerie  of  the 
finest  quality,  crochet,  lace,  and  embroidery,  are  carried  on 
in  many  other  industries,  convents,  and  private  homes 
throughout  Ireland.  The  Irish  Decorative  Art  Association, 
in  Belfast,  produces  a  variety  of  artistic  articles  in  metal  and 
woodwork,  whilst  bookbinding  of  a  kind  unsurpassed  else- 
where is  executed  by  several  Irish  artists. 


3.      HOUSEHOLD   REQUISITES 

An  endless  number  of  articles,  which  may  be  grouped  under 
the  head  of  HOUSEHOLD  REQUISITES,  are  made  in 
Ireland.  This  group  includes  such  items  as  :  Basket-work, 
bedding,  curled  hair,  mattresses,  down  quilts  and  other  down 
goods,  cushions,  polishes  and  powders  (boot,  floor,  furniture, 
knife,  metal,  and  plate),  starch,  blue,  brushes,  brooms,  cutlery, 
combs  (in  1860  there  were  seventy-five  master  combmakers 
in  Ireland,  employing  from  ten  to  fifteen  workpeople  each ; 
to-day  there  is  only  one — in  Dublin — and  the  number  of  his 

13 


194  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

workpeople  is  about  twelve),  curtains,  tapestry,  matches,  and 
tinware.  This  latter  industry  had  not  progressed  to  any  appre- 
ciable extent  up  to  a  few  years  ago,  but  an  up-to-date  factory 
established  in  Dublin  at  the  end  of  1916  has  gone  some  distance 
towards  catering  on  a  large  scale  for  the  Irish  market. 


4.      CHEMICAL   GROUP 

In  what  may  be  described  as  the  CHEMICAL  GROUP, 
Ireland  has,  in  addition  to  those  referred  to  elsewhere,  a 
number  of  progressive  industries.  These  include  the  manu- 
facture of  fine  chemicals,  drugs,  paints,  varnishes,  distempers, 
enamels,  inks,  magnesia,  disinfectants,  as  well  as  pharma- 
ceutical and  veterinary  preparations. 


5-      MISCELLANEOUS 

A  few  other  Irish  industries  worthy  of  special  mention  are 
those  of  felt-roofing  (which  is  made  on  a  fairly  considerable 
scale  in  this  country),  bell-founding  (an  Irish  industry  which 
has  never  lost  its  fame,  and  continues  to  produce  peals  of  bells 
lor  other  countries  besides  this),  umbrellas  and  walking- 
sticks  (which  are  made  in  the  North  and  South  of  Ireland), 
china  and  pottery  (the  manufactures  of  the  Belleek,  Co. 
Fermanagh,  Pottery  Industry  are  well-known  throughout 
several  continents.  This  industry  was  recently  acquired  by 
a  group  of  enterprising  Irishmen  who  have  planned  to  develop 
its  resources  and  considerably  extend  the  output  of  the  famous 
Belleek  China,  as  well  as  of  ordinary  household  delph-ware), 
dolls  and  toys  (made  in  a  number  of  small  industries  through- 
out the  country),  galvanized  and  japanned  goods  (of  many 
kinds,  are  made  by  two  industries  in  Dublin),  gloves  (kid- 
gloves  continue  to  be  made  on  a  small  scale  by  one  industry 
in  Cork  city,  and  knitted  gloves  are  manufactured  extensively 
in  a  number  of  Irish  knitting  industries),  gold  beater  (the 
only  surviving  industry  manufacturing  this  article  is  situated 
in  Dublin  ;  its  output  is  small,  but  the  quality  of  its  product 
is  unsurpassed),  rosary  and  other  beads  (three  or  four 
firms  in  Dublin  manufacture  these  items  and,  in  addition  to  a 
large  home  demand,  quantities  of  their  products  are  shipped 


MISCELLANEOUS  INDUSTRIES  195 

abroad),  oils  (one  firm  in  Dublin  carries  on  the  business  of 
oil  refining  on  a  large  scale,  and  its  products  are  shipped  to 
all  parts  of  the  world),  organ  building  (this  Irish  industry  is 
not  now  as  extensive  as  it  was  a  few  decades  ago,  but  the 
firms  engaged  in  it  have  earned  a  deservedly  high  reputation 
for  the  excellence  of  their  workmanship),  waterproof  goods 
(a  number  of  firms  in  the  North,  South,  and  East  of  Ireland 
manufacture  a  variety  of  waterproof  articles  and  oilskins. 
Several  of  them  have  well-equipped,  up-to-date  factories  and 
produce  large  quantities  of  these  articles). 

The  foregoing  by  no  means  exhausts  the  list  of  goods  made 
in  Ireland,  but  the  reader,  as  well  as  Irish  makers  whose  goods 
have  not  been  mentioned,  will  realize  the  impossibility  of  my 
alluding  to  each  item  separately  within  the  compass  of  a  work 
such  as  this. 


CHAPTER  XI 
GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS 

WITH  the  object  of  giving  the  reader  reliable  information 
as  to  the  volume  of  Government  contractual  work 
placed  with  Irish  firms  during  the  war  years  ((1914- 
18),  I  requested  the  various  Authorities  concerned  to  supply 
me  with  such  data.  Following  is  the  information  I  have 
succeeded  in  procuring.  It  will  be  noted  that  several  Govern- 
ment Departments  who  procure  a  proportion  of  their  supplies 
in  this  country  have  failed  to  supply  particulars.  The  chief 
reason  for  selecting  the  returns  relating  to  the  war  years  was, 
that  during  the  greater  part  of  that  period  practically  all 
industrial  materials  were  under  Government  control,  and  with 
rare  exceptions  were  only  allocated  to  firms  engaged  in  produc- 
ing goods  for  Government  purposes.  Further,  that  prior 
to  the  period  in  question  the  total  amount  of  Government 
contracts  placed  with  Irish  firms  was  insignificant. 


I.      ADMIRALTY    CONTRACTS 

Following  is  a  copy  of  a  letter  received  from  the  Admiralty, 
together  with  a  copy  of  the  Statement  which  accompanied  it : 

ADMIRALTY,  S.W.  i,gth  September,  1919. 

I  am  commanded  by  My  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty 
to  acquaint  you  that  they  have  given  careful  consideration  to 
your  letter  of  the  2oth  June  last,  in  which,  for  the  purpose  of  a 
handbook  which  you  are  writing  on  Irish  industries,  you  ask 
that  information  may  be  sent  you  as  to  description,  quantity, 
and  value  of  contracts  for  general  supplies  placed  directly  by  the 
Admiralty  with  Irish  firms  during  the  years  1914-1919,  together 
with  similar  information  as  to  contracts  for  building  works 
in  Ireland  during  the  same  period. 

196 


GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS  197 

2.  My  Lords  after  some  local  enquiries  are  of  opinion  that 
the  compilation  of  a  list  of  contracts  in  the  form  suggested  would 
be  a  very  formidable  task,  and  would  entail  a  greater  expendi- 
ture of  labour  on  the  part  of  the  Department  than  they  feel 
justified  in  sanctioning  at  the  present  time.  They  have,  however, 
caused  a  brief  statement  of  Admiralty  contracts  placed  in  Ireland 
during  the  war  to  be  prepared,  and  a  copy  is  enclosed  herewith 
in  the  hope  that,  with  this  amount  of  information  before  you, 
you  will,  no  doubt,  with  the  assistance  of  any  of  the  firms  who  are 
members  of  your  organization  or  whom  you  might  approach 
for  more  detailed  particulars,  be  able  to  compile  a  statement 
which  will  fulfil  your  needs. 

SHORT     STATEMENT     IN     REGARD    TO    ADMIRALTY 
CONTRACTS  IN  IRELAND  DURING  THE  WAR. 

SHIPBUILDING  : — A  good  deal  of  new  construction  work, 
including  light  cruisers,  monitors,  patrol  oil-tanks,  boom  defence 
vessels,  and  sloops,  was  undertaken  in  the  North  of  Ireland 
during  the  war. 

SHIP-REPAIRS  : — For  repairs  to  vessels  upwards  of  twenty 
Irish  firms  signed  the  agreement  with  the  Admiralty  for  the 
undertaking  of  such  work.  The  repairs  were  executed  not  only 
in  Belfast,  but  at  Queenstown,  Londonderry,  and  other  ports  in 
Ireland. 

BUILDING  WORKS  :— As  regards  building  works  on  shore, 
although  the  programme  of  construction  by  the  Admiralty  in 
Ireland  during  the  years  1914-1918  was  not  very  extensive, 
certain  works  were  constructed  at  naval  bases  and  air  stations 
in  Ireland,  and  in  most  cases  Irish  contractors  carried  out  all  tho 
work  required  by  this  Department,  i.e.,  Buncrana,  Killeagh, 
Wexford,  Berehaven,  and  Whiddy  Island. 

ELECTRICAL  WORK :— In  connexion  with  electrical 
machinery  and  electrical  installation,  a  certain  number  of  Irish 
manufacturers  have  been  engaged  on  Admiralty  work. 

FOOD  STUFFS  : — Fresh  meat,  flour,  bread  and  vegetables 
were  drawn  by  ships  based  on  Irish  ports  from  local  firms  under 
contract,  and  amounted  to  about,  say  :  meat,  130,000  Ifcs., 
bread,  80,000  lt»s.  ;  vegetables,  100,000  Ibs.,  and  flour  15  tons 
per  month.  Other  victualling  stores  for  those  ships  were  supplied 
from  the  general  Admiralty  stocks,  which  are  bought  in  bulk 
from  the  most  suitable  firms  in  the  United  Kingdom.  Irish 
firms  on  the  list  are  given  equal  facilities  with  any  others  for 
quoting  for  all  supplies  required.  Irish  firms  secure  practically 


198   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

all  the  orders  for  salt  pork,  and  have  also  secured  considerable 
orders  for  chocolate. 

LINEN  : — -About  half  the  number  of  firms  on  list  are  Irish, 
who  secure  orders  invariably  in  competition  for  the  large  bulk 
of  finer  linens  and  damask.  For  the  coarser  linens  (and  canvas) 
the  Irish  firms,  though  invited  to  tender,  do  not  compete  so 
successfully,  and  the  bulk  of  the  orders  go  to  Scotland.  Owing 
to  shortage  of  flax,  it  became  necessary  to  substitute  cotton 
and  other  fibres  for  flax  as  far  as  possible,  but  the  Irish  firms 
adapted  their  machinery  accordingly.  For  linen  aeroplane 
fabric,  until  lately  purchased  by  the  Admiralty,  the  orders  were 
given  to  Irish  firms.  Purchase  is  now  made  by  the  Aeronautical 
Supplies  Department  and  the  large  bulk  still  goes  to  Irish  firms. 

OTHER  TEXTILES  :— Since  the  war  a  number  of  Irish  firms 
have  been  asked  to  quote,  but  with  no  appreciable  success. 
The  principal  items  are  blankets  and  serge,  but  the  Irish  firms, 
who  were  furnished  with  samples  and  full  particulars,  were  not 
able  to  satisfy  requirements. 

CORDAGE  AND  TWINES  :— About  fifty  per  cent  of  the  total 
cordage  purchased  for  the  Navy  is  made  in  Ireland,  and  also  a 
fair  percentage  of  the  twines. 

CLOTHING  :— Contracts  exist  at  the  different  Irish  ports  for 
supplies  to  the  Trawler  Reserves,  including  hosiery,  light  clothing, 
(shirts,  etc.),  canvas  and  blue  suits,  boots,  and  oilskins.  Irish 
clothing  factories  are  invited  to  tender  for  making  articles  of 
uniform  clothing  in  competition  with  firms  in  Great  Britain. 
Exhaustive  enquiries  were  made  in  August,  1915,  on  receipt  of 
a  report  from  the  Ministry  of  Munitions,  to  see  whether  Irish 
firms  could  undertake  supplies  of  boots,  but  no  great  success  was 
achieved.  Later,  when  urgent  requirements  of  hosiery  arose, 
enquiries  were  made  through  the  officers  of  the  Ministry  of 
Munitions  stationed  at  Dublin  and  Belfast  as  to  the  possibility 
of  obtaining  supplies  from  Ireland,  but  with  little  result,  the  class 
of  goods  manufactured  being  unsuitable  for  Naval  requirements, 
which  are  better  met  from  such  centres  as  Leicester,  Nottingham, 
and  some  districts  of  Scotland. 

PERISCOPES  FOR  SUBMARINES :— The  whole  output 
of  the  Irish  makers  of  these  periscopes  was  bought  by  the 
Admiralty. 


2.      POST   OFFICE    CONTRACTS 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  reply  received  from  the  Post 
Office  in  response  to  the  present  writer's  request  for  details 


GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS 


199 


of  the  contracts  placed  by  that  Department  with  Irish  firms 
during  the  war  years : — 

General  Post  Office,  Dublin, 

igth  September,   1919. 

With  reference  to  your  letter  of  the  24th  June,  to  which  it  is 
regretted  it  has  not  been  practicable  to  send  an  earlier  reply, 
I  have  to  enclose  lists1  giving  particulars  of  Post  Office  contracts 
with  firms  in  Ireland  during  the  financial  years  from  April,  1914, 
to  March,  1919. 

The  total  value  of  the  contracts  placed  annually  was  as 
follows : — 


Year. 

Total  Value. 

f, 

1914-15 

12,700 

1915-16 

6,900 

1916-17 

22,IOO 

1917-18 

40,750 

1918-19 

18,130 

It  should  be  explained  that  the  totals  for  the  years  1914-15, 
1915-16,  and  1918-9  do  not  include  any  contract  for  tailoring, 
the  supplies  required  during  the  two  former  years  being  drawn 
under  the  three-year  contract  placed  in  1913,  and  those  required 
in  1918-19  being  drawn  under  a  contract  placed  during  the 
financial  year  1917-18,  while  the  totals  for  the  years  1916-17 
and  1917-18  include  contracts  for  tailoring. 

In  the  case  of  all  contracts  under  which  the  Department 
supplies  material  (cloth,  etc.),  the  value  furnished  is  the  gross 
value  inclusive  of  the  materials. 

On  October  25,  1919,  the  Secretary  to  the  General  Post 
Office,  Dublin,  supplied  the  following  additional  information  : 

1  The  lists  which  accompanied  this  letter  contain  only  the  follow> 
ing  particulars,  viz.  :  (i)  Dates  of  contracts  ;  (2)  names  and  addresses 
of  contractors,  and  (3)  description  of  articles  contracted  for.  As  they 
do  not  contain  any  detailed  information  concerning  the  quantity  and 
value  of  the  contracts  placed,  they  are  not  of  sufficient  general  imterest 
to  justify  reproducing  them  herein. 


200  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

With  reference  to  your  further  letter  of  the  24th  ult.,  I  have  to 
inform  you  that  the  total  value  of  the  material  supplied  to 
contractors  by  the  Department  in  each  of  the  years  mentioned 
was  as  follows  : — 


Year. 

Value. 

1914-15 

Nil 

1915-16 

Nil 

1916-17 

12,402 

1917-18 

27,045 

1918-19 

135 

The  foregoing  figures  include  the  value  of  some  materials 
purchased  in  Ireland,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  give  their  value 
separately. 


3.      H.M.    STATIONERY   OFFICE    CONTRACTS 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  H.  E.  Pitman,  Superintendent,  H.M. 
Stationery  Office,  Dublin,  for  the  following  Return  showing 
the  sums  paid  by  the  Department  to  Irish  firms  for  the  under- 
mentioned supplies  in  each  of  the  years  1913-19  : — 


Year. 

Printing. 

Binding  . 

Paper*. 

Stores3. 

Total. 

f, 

I 

£ 

£ 

i 

1913-14 

18,917 

5,277 

16,110 

3,200 

43,504 

1914-15 

18,718 

6,419 

16,180 

3,780 

45,097 

1915-16 

15,864 

5,294 

14,990 

6,170 

42,3l8 

1916-17 

12,394 

3,801 

25,120 

6,050 

47,365 

1917-18 

12,899 

4,670 

33,750 

16,730 

68,049 

1918-19 

u.3,0991 

5,40i 

63,560 

23,410 

205,470 

1  "  This    increase    was    due    to    payments    for    Voters'    Lists    and 
Registers. 

2  and  3  The  increases  which  occurred  under  these  headings  in  the 
years    1916-19   were  due  mainly  to  war  supplies  and  rises  in  the  cost 
of  materials." 


GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS  201 

Of  the  amounts  paid  for  "  Paper,"  sixty-five  per  cent  is  for 
paper  made  in  Ireland.  A  large  proportion  of  the  remainder 
comes  under  the  heading  of  "  Envelopes  "  whiph  are  made  in 
Ireland,  and  for  which  some  of  the  paper  is  manufactured  in 
Ireland. 

Apart  from  string  and  rope,  the  quantity  of  "  Stores  "  obtain- 
able of  Irish  manufacture  has  been  found  to  be  small. 


4.      WAR   OFFICE    CONTRACTS 

In  addition  to  giving  details  of  the  contracts  placed  by  the 
War  Office  Contracts  Department  with  Irish  firms  during  the 
war  (see  Appendix  V,  pp.  303-307)  it  is  necessary  that  I  should 
allude  to  a  cognate  subject  which  received  a  considerable 
amount  of  publicity  in  recent  years,  namely,  the  agitation  to 
secure  the  establishment  of  a  War  Office  Receiving  and 
Testing  Depot  in  Ireland.  A  full  recital  of  the  history  of  the 
subject  would  occupy  far  more  space  than  I  have  at  my 
command  in  the  present  volume.  Therefore  it  must  suffice  if 
I  merely  outline  the  chief  points  concerning  the  matter. 

Numerous  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  after  1854, 
when  the  War  Office  transferred  the  functions  of  their  Irish 
Receiving  Depot  to  Woolwich,  to  prevail  upon  them  to 
re-establish  the  Depot  in  Ireland.  In  March,  1916,  a  deputa- 
tion from  the  All-Ireland  Munitions  and  Government  Supplies 
Committee  waited  upon  the  Financial  Secretary  to  the  War 
Office  and  pressed  upon  him  the  necessity  for  conceding  this 
claim,  so  that  Irish  firms  desirous  of  undertaking  War  Office 
contracts  should  be  given  equal  facilities  to  those  enjoyed  by 
firms  in  Great  Britain.  The  interview  failed  to  attain  the 
deputation's  object.  In  July,  1916,  a  second  deputation 
from  the  Committee  waited  upon  Lord  Derby,  then  Under- 
secretary of  State  for  War,  and  placed  their  case  before  him. 
The  result  was  no  better  than  that  obtained  by  the  former 
deputation.  (The  Committee  all  this  time  were  actively 
engaged  at  home  in  organizing  plans  for  compelling  the 
authorities  to  give  way  on  this  point.)  On  October  16, 
1916,  they  sent  a  further  deputation  to  London,  this  time 
to  Mr.  Lloyd  George,  then  Secretary  of  State  for  War,  and 
the  case  they  made  was  so  strong  that  that  gentleman  under- 
took to  at  once  send  an  impartial  investigator  to  Ireland  to 


202  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

inquire  into  the  matter.  He  sent  Sir  Maurice  Levy,  Bart., 
M.P.  This  gentleman  came  here,  made  a  thorough  study 
of  the  subject,  and  reported  to  Mr.  Lloyd  George  on 
November  14,  1916.  The  following  are  excerpts  from  his 
report : — 

On  October  2  8th  you  expressed  a  desire  that  I  should 
proceed  at  once  to  Ireland  and  report  to  you  regarding  the 
existing  facilities  in  Ireland  for  contractors  desirous  of  competing 
for  War  Office  contracts,  and  also  upon  the  possibility  of  making 
further  use  of  the  facilities  in  Ireland  generally  as  far  as  meeting 
War  Office  requirements  is  concerned.  Also  to  suggest  any 
remedies  or  any  alterations  which  I  consider,  after  investigation, 
should  be  made  with  a  view  of  making  further  use  of  the 
industrial  and  agricultural  resources  of  Ireland  for  meeting  War 
Office  requirements. 

Accordingly  I  went  to  Ireland  on  October  30  (1916). 

I  have  visited  Dublin,  Belfast,  Carlow,  Kilkenny,  and  Water- 
ford,  where  I  have  interviewed  deputations  from  local  authorities, 
representative  deputations  from  many  of  the  manufacturing 
districts,  the  All-Ireland  Munitions  and  Government  Supplies 
Committee,  and  individual  manufacturers  in  most  of  the 
industries  of  Ireland.  ...  I  am  of  opinion  that  supplies  in  much 
larger  quantities  can  be  obtained  from  Ireland  if  the  people  can 
be  interested  in  the  requirements  of  the  nation,  and  if  the  inborn 
sentiment  that  England  only  looks  to  Ireland  when  in  need,  and 
the  feeling  of  mistrust  and  lack  of  confidence  in  Woolwich  and 
Pimlico,  can  be  dispelled  from  the  minds  of  the  Irish  people, 
feelings  which  are  strong  in  Dublin  and  the  South.  .  .  .  Some 
manufacturers  who  have  and  have  had  contracts  object  to  send 
their  goods  to  London  to  be  examined  in  consequence  of  alleged 
unfair  treatment,  and  the  heavy  cost  of  carriage  in  case  of  rejec- 
tion. They  complain  that  in  case  of  rejection  very  scanty 
information  is  given  as  to  the  reason  for  rejection.  Delays 
occur  before  the  rejected  goods  are  returned,  and  frequently 
many  weeks  elapse  between  the  despatch  of  their  goods  and  their 
formal  acceptance.  .  .  .  The  opinion  I  have  formed  is  that  no 
substantial  increase  of  manufactured  goods  can  be  expected  from 
Ireland  unless  and  until  a  depot  for  the  reception  of  goods  is 
established  in  Ireland,  with  a  complete  range  of  samples  of  all 
goods  required  by  the  War  Office,  which  it  is  possible  for  Ireland 
to  produce,  under  the  control  of  a  man  of  experience  who  can  give 
assistance,  guidance,  and  information  to  the  manufacturers 
when  desired.  ...  At  a  conference  in  Belfast  with  the  Northern 
Section  of  the  Association  of  Woollen  and  Worsted  Manufac- 
turers, who  were  unanimous  in  their  desire  for  a  Receiving  Depot 


GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS  203 

in  Ireland,  they  unanimously  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
depot  ought  to  be  in  Dublin.  Geographically,  Dublin  is, 
undoubtedly,  the  most  convenient  centre  for  the  majority  of 
manufacturers.  Dublin,  being  the  capital  of  Ireland,  the  seat 
of  Government,  and  the  Headquarters  of  the  Irish  Command, 
is  naturally  the  city  in  which  the  Irish  Depot  should  be.  There 
are  sites  available  in  Dublin  upon  which  a  suitable  building 
could  be  erected  in  a  few  weeks,  there  being  very  many  building 
operatives  out  of  employment  at  the  present  time. 

Personally,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  establishment  of  a  Depot 
as  desired  would  probably  do  much  to  remove  some  of  the 
discontent  existing  in  Ireland,  especially  if  placed  under  the 
control  of  a  sympathetic  business  man  who  would  take  an 
interest  in  imparting  information  to  the  manufacturers.  It 
would  undoubtedly  bring  increased  prosperity  to  Ireland  by 
increasing  her  manufactures. 

The  conclusions  I  have  formed  are  : 

(1)  That   in   the  interests  of  the  Empire  it  is  desirable  to 
encourage  the  stimulation  and  development  of  the  manufacturing 
industries  of  Ireland. 

(2)  That  much  greater  use  can  be  made  of  the  industrial 
resources  of  Ireland. 

(3)  That  it  is  desirable  to  establish  a  Receiving  Depot  in 
Ireland. 

(4)  That  such  Depot  should  be  in  Dublin. 

(5)  That  the  responsible   official  should   be   British,   and   a 
business  man. 

(6)  That  the  existing  arrangements  with  the  Linen  Trade 
should  not  be  disturbed  except  in  the  case  of  manufacturers 
who  expressed  a  wish  to  deliver  their  goods  at  Dublin. 

(Signed)     MAURICE  LEVY,   November  14,    1916. l 

Despite  the  advice  tendered  by  this  impartial  Englishman, 
the  War  Office  Authorities  continued  to  do  nothing.  The 
Committee,  however,  increased  the  weight  of  their  agitation 
in  numerous  effective  ways,  until,  on  January  28,  1918, 
the  War  Office  succumbed  to  their  pressure  and  notified  them 
that  they  had  taken  premises  in  Dublin  which  would  be  utilized 
as  a  Receiving  and  Testing  Depot  and  would  be  effectively 
equipped  and  staffed  for  this  purpose. 

The  organization,  when  set  up  here,  worked  efficiently 
and  proved  of  great  value  in  assisting  Irish  firms  in  respect 

1  This  Report  was  suppressed  by  the  War  Office  until  March  u, 
1918. 


204  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

to  War  Office  contractual  work.  Its  functions  were  defined 
in  the  following  communication  forwarded  to  the  All-Ireland 
Committee  by  the  then  Surveyor-General  (the  present 
Lord  Inverforth.) 

WAR  OFFICE,  WHITEHALL,  S.W.,  October  7,  1918. 

In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  3rd  inst.,  the  official  order  to 
which  you  refer  states  that  a  Receipt  and  Inspection  Depot 
has  been  formed  in  Dublin  with  a  view  to  developing  the  manu- 
facturing resources  of  Ireland  for  Army  purposes,  and  to  dealing 
rapidly  and  effectively  with  the  examination  and  delivery  of 
stores  manufactured  in  Ireland,  thereby  reducing  the  difficulties 
of  which  Irish  contractors  have  complained  and  brought  to 
notice.  It  states  further  that  in  conformity  with  the  instructions 
of  and  in  direct  communication  with  the  Departments  concerned, 
the  organization  will  develop  on  economic  lines  the  output  of 
Irish  industries  in  relation  to  the  supply  services,  advise  on  the 
placing  of  contracts  and  superintendence  for  their  fulfilment ; 
will  carry  out  storage  and  accounting  functions  and  the  super- 
intendence of  inspection  ;  and  will  report  weekly  on  such  matters 
of  principle  and  policy  relating  to  administration  and  the  general 
and  economical  utilization  of  the  industrial  resources  of  Ireland 
as  it  may  be  of  importance  and  interest  to  bring  to  notice. 

Having,  in  the  end,  acted  more  fairly  towards  this  country, 
and  set  up  an  organization  which,  in  less  than  a  year,  demon- 
strated that,  from  the  War  Office  point  of  view,  it  was  a  profit- 
able undertaking,  it  was  reasonable  to  expect  that  this  Depot 
would  be  retained  as  a  permanent  institution.  Nevertheless, 
under  the  pretext  of  economy,  this  profit-making  organization 
was  scrapped  in  August,  1919,  and  Irish  firms  who  desire  to 
obtain  a  share  of  War  Office  contracts  are  again  faced  with 
all  the  difficulties  that  prevailed  before  it  came  into  being. 
If  they  wish  to  have  it  reinstated  once  more  they  must  re-com- 
mence the  heart-breaking  agitation  which  they  believed  had 
been  ended  once  and  for  all. 

A  Return  showing  the  detailed  and  total  value  of  the  orders 
for  various  kinds  of  goods  purchased  by  the  War  Office  from 
Irish  firms  during  the  war  years  appears  under  Appendix  V 
(see  pp.  303-307) .  This  Return  was  supplied  to  the  present 
writer  by  the  Ministry  of  Munitions  on  behalf  of  the  War  Office, 
and  he  desires  to  acknowledge  his  thanks  to  Lord  Inverforth, 
Minister  of  Munitions,  for  having  authorized  the  compiling  of 


GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS  205 

these  statistics  (as  well  as  those  of  the  Ministry  of  Munitions, 
published  elsewhere  in  tliis  volume)  for  the  purpose  of  publica- 
tion in  this  work. 


5.      MUNITIONS    OF   WAR 

It  was  in  the  last  week  of  July,  1914,  that  the  Great  World 
War  commenced,  and  in  the  first  week  of  August  the  British 
Parliament  sanctioned  Great  Britain's  entry  into  the  arena. 
The  shortage  of  munitions  of  war  which  existed  at  the  time 
was  a  fact  well-known  to  those  in  authority.  Ere  long  it  was 
found  that  the  British  Government  were  required  not  alone 
to  provide  enormous  quantities  of  munitions  of  all  kinds  to 
meet  the  needs  of  their  own  army  and  navy,  but  also  of  those 
of  the  allied  countries  associated  with  them  hi  this  gigantic 
struggle.  So  unprecedented  was  the  demand,  and  so  urgent 
its  nature,  that  the  then  existing  machinery  for  meeting  such 
requirements  proved  inadequate  and  a  new  Government 
organization,  the  Ministry  of  Munitions  of  War,  was  established 
in  London  for  the  purpose  of  co-ordinating  the  demands  of 
the  various  departments  interested  and  of  organizing  and 
extending  the  output  of  munitions.  It  was  also  empowered 
to  purchase  munitions  wherever  they  were  obtainable. 
Mr.  Lloyd  George  was  appointed  as  the  first  Minister  of 
Munitions,  and  the  Ministry  commenced  its  operations  in 
the  year  1915. 

At  a  time  of  crisis  such  as  this  one  would,  naturally,  expect 
that  every  available  source  of  supply  would  be  made  use  of. 
Ireland  is  situated  only  a  few  hours'  journey  by  sea  from  Great 
Britain.  That  fact  should  have  lead  the  business  men  who  were 
appointed  to  assist  the  Minister  in  his  task  of  procuring  muni- 
tions, speedily  and  in  ever  increasing  quantity,  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  potential  sources  of  supply  which  Ireland 
possessed.  What  actually  happened  was,  that  orders  were 
placed  with  every  firm  in  Great  Britain  prepared  to  undertake 
such  work — the  vast  majority  of  them  were  as  inexperienced 
in  the  production  of  munitions  as  were  Irish  firms ;  national 
factories  of  gigantic  dimensions  were  erected  and  equipped 
in  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales,  some  of  them  at  consider- 
able distances  from  populated  centres — the  workpeople 
having  to  be  conveyed  to  and  from  the  factories  by  special 
trains  (at  a  time  when  railway  traffic  of  every  description  was 


206  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

terribly  congested) ;  and  representatives  of  the  Ministry  were 
despatched  to  and  retained  in  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
organizing  the  production  of  various  kinds  of  munitions  of 
war  in  those  countries.  The  time  spent  in  conveying  supplies 
across  the  Atlantic  varied  from  seven  days  to  a  much  larger 
number,  according  to  the  freedom  from  or  presence  of  sub- 
marines ;  valuable  cargoes  of  these  vital  supplies  were  fre- 
quently lost  in  transit ;  and,  further,  British  gold  or  its  equiva- 
lent in  British-owned  American  securities  had  to  be  exchanged 
for  such  purchases,  or  American  loans  to  Great  Britain  had 
to  be  negotiated  to  defray  the  cost  of  them. 

Every  available  source  from  which  the  British  Govern- 
ment could  procure  munitions  was  fully  availed  of  with  one 
exception,  that  exception  was  Ireland.  The  figures  which 
we  publish  a  little  further  on  demonstrate  the  absolute 
accuracy  of  this  statement,  but  before  quoting  them  it  is 
necessary  to  refer  briefly  to  the  efforts  made  by  Irish  firms 
to  procure  a  share  of  this  work.  Numerous  firms  here  in  the 
early  years  of  the  war  made  strenuous  efforts  to  persuade  the 
Ministry  to  entrust  them  with  contracts  for  the  manufacture 
of  shells  and  other  Ministry  requirements,  but  the  response 
they  received  was  to  be  told  by  officials  that  they  could  as 
easily  eat  shells  as  manufacture  them.  A  Committee  of  the 
Dublin  Chamber  of  Commerce  was  appointed,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  the  Minister,  to  prepare  plans  showing  the  possibility 
of  Irish  firms  undertaking  munition  contracts.  No  sooner 
had  they  evolved  a  definite  scheme  on  these  lines  than,  with- 
out availing  himself  of  their  proposals,  Mr.  Lloyd  George 
wrote  them  a  very  polite  letter,  stating  that  the  Ministry 
intended  opening  Area  offices  of  their  own  in  Dublin  and 
Belfast  and  that,  whilst  he  was  obliged  to  them  for  the  trouble 
they  had  taken,  he  had  no  further  use  for  their  services. 
The  Committee,  very  unwisely,  as  events  proved,  accepted 
their  dismissal  and  dissolved.  The  Ministry  opened  an  office 
in  Dublin  and  another  in  Belfast,  and  shortly  afterwards 
secured  a  site  in  the  former  City,  where  they  erected  a  minia- 
ture factory  for  the  manufacture  of  i8-pounder  shell ;  in 
addition,  they  placed  a  few  small — very  small — orders  for 
shells,  component  parts  of  shells,  and  wooden  ammunition 
boxes  with  private  firms  in  the  southern  area  of  Ireland. 

This  was  the  position  of  affairs  up  to  the  early  part  of  1916. 
At  that  time  so  strong  was  the  feeling  which  existed  in  Ireland 


GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS  207 

in  this  connexion — (firms  here  were  prevented  from  carrying 
on  their  regular  trades  owing  to  the  impossibility  of  procuring 
raw  materials,  etc.,  unless  they  were  engaged  on  war  contracts ; 
thousands  of  skilled  and  unskilled  Irish  workpeople,  male  and 
female,  were  recruited  by  the  Labour  Exchanges  for  munition 
work  in  Great  Britain,  and,  consequently,  had  to  contribute 
to  the  expenses  of  the  upkeep  of  two  homes,  one  in  this  country 
and  another  in  England) — that  a  body,  thoroughly  representa- 
tive of  more  than  three-fourths  of  Ireland,  was  established 
under  the  title  of  the  All- Ireland  Munitions  and  Government 
Supplies  Committee,  with  its  headquarters  in  Dublin.  An 
influential  deputation  from  this  body  waited  on  Mr.  Lloyd 
George  on  March  loth,  1916,  and  insisted  that  as  Ireland 
was  contributing  in  like  proportion  to  Great  Britain  to  the 
cost  of  the  war ;  that  as  it  was  obliged  to  conform  to  all 
British  Government  regulations  appertaining  to  the  restric- 
tions placed  upon  ordinary  trade  and  manufacture ;  and 
that,  as  it  was  competent  to  undertake,  on  an  extensive  scale, 
the  manufacture  of  various  kinds  of  munition  work,  provision 
should  be  made  at  once  to  enable  it  to  do  so.  The  result 
of  the  interview  was  that  the  Minister  undertook  to  equip 
an  addition  to  the  Dublin  National  Shell  Factory  with 
machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  9.2  in.  shell ;  to  erect  and 
equip  a  further  national  factory,  adjoining,  for  the  manu- 
facture of  fuzes  ;  to  establish  a  national  factory  in  Waterford 
for  the  manufacture  of  cartridge  cases,  and  another  in  Cork 
for  the  manufacture  of  4.5  in.  shell.  Further,  it  was  arranged 
that  additional  contracts  should  be  placed  with  private  firms 
in  Ireland. 

That  was  in  March,  1916.  The  work  of  erecting  the  Irish 
national  factories  was  begun  without  delay,  but  the  time 
unnecessarily  wasted  in  equipping  and  getting  them  into 
working  order  is  evident  from  the  following  excerpt  from  a 
letter,  dated  October  n,  1917,  received  by  the  All-Ireland 
Committee  from  Mr.  Winston  Churchill  (then  Minister  of 
Munitions)  :  It  must  be  remembered  that,  except  in  the  case 
of  the  i8-pounder  shop  at  Dublin,  the  plants  are  only  just  reach- 
ing the  producing  stage — (more  than  three  years  after  the 
outbreak  of  war).  The  present  writer  in  dealing  with  this 
subject  on  a  former  occasion1  wrote :  The  quality  of  the 

1  Studies  :  June,  1918,  p.  310. 


208   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

management  and  control  of  these  factories,  up  to  the  latter  part 
of  1917,  is  exemplified  by  an  extract  from  a  report  made  to  the 
All-Ireland  Committee  by  two  of  the  ablest,  independent,  manu- 
facturing engineers  in  England,  who  inspected  these  factories 
in  December,  1917.  They  reported  as  follows :  The  general 
appearance  of  all  the  national  factories  in  Ireland  was  one  of 
inefficiency.  (It  is  right  to  mention  that  up  to  that  period  no 
Irishman  was  in  control  of  or  manager  of  any  of  these 
factories).  One  other  extract  from  the  report  of  these  experts 
is  of  general  interest  in  regard  to  the  question  of  After- War 
Trade,  viz.  :  We  are  unable  to  recommend  any  one  unit  (with- 
out material  alterations  and  additions)  as  suitable  to  manujacture 
any  commercial  engineering  article  within  our  knowledge. 

At  the  end  of  1917  a  new  Directorate  was  appointed  to 
the  Dublin  Area  Office.  These  gentlemen,  one  of  whom  was  an 
experienced  engineer,  set  to  work  to  clean  up  the  mess  created 
by  their  predecessors.  The  first  thing  they  did  was  to  place  a 
practical  engineer  in  charge  of  each  of  the  factories — a  course 
the  adoption  of  which  the  All-Ireland  Committee  had  clam- 
oured for,  unsuccessfully,  for  a  long  time  previously — more 
effective  balancing  of  machinery  was  effected,  the  skilful 
production  of  the  different  shells,  etc.,  was  properly  taught  to 
the  operatives,  and  system  was  introduced  into  the  working 
of  the  factories.  The  following  official  statements  demon- 
strate the  improvement  that  had  been  effected  ten  months 
later. 

DUBLIN  NATIONAL  SHELL  FACTORY  :— In  the  month 
of  October,  1918,  28,671  eighteen-pounder  shells  were  manu- 
factured, out  of  which  only  156  showed  defects.  The  gross  cost 
per  shell,  including  suitable  allowance  for  depreciation  of  plant, 
was  us.  2|d.,  and  as  the  contract  price  allowed  by  the  Ministry 
of  Munitions  was  123.,  a  profit  of  g|d.  per  shell  was  being  made. 

In  October,  1918,  the  9.2  inch  shell  department  was  just 
completing  a  re-organization  of  their  machinery,  necessary  for 
the  manufacture  of  a  new  type  of  tapered  shell,  and  consequently 
the  production  for  the  month  was  small ;  however,  out  of  758 
shells  made  only  two  were  found  to  be  defective. 

DUBLIN  NATIONAL  FUSE  FACTORY  :— At  the  time  of 
the  Armistice  the  Dublin  National  Fuse  Factory  was  engaged  on 
the  production  of  the  106  brass  percussion  fuse.  During  the 
month  of  October,  1918,  the  output  of  this  type  of  fuse  exceeded 
60,000,  the  net  cost  per  fuse,  including  depreciation,  was  6s.  4^d., 


GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS  209 

and  as  the  contract  price  allowed  by  the  Ministry  of  Munitions 
was  8s.,  a  profit  of  is.  y£d.  per  fuse  was  being  made. 

It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  during  April,  1918,  while  this 
factory  was  engaged  on  the  production  of  the  103  cast-iron 
percussion  fuse,  93,000  fuses  were  made  during  the  month,  at  a 
cost  of  as.  7 id.  each,  the  contract  price  allowed  by  the  Ministry 
of  Munitions  being  53.  It  is  believed  that  this  cost  of  as.  yjd.  is 
the  cheapest  cost  of  production  obtained  in  the  British  Isles. 

In  the  case  of  the  103  cast-iron  fuses,  the  cost  of  materials  is 
a  small  proportion  of  the  total  cost,  so  that  it  is  much  easier  to 
effect  savings  in  the  cost  of  manufacture  than  in  the  case  of  the 
106  fuse,  where  the  cost  of  materials  is  a  much  greater  proportion 
of  the  total  cost. 

WATERFORD  NATIONAL  CARTRIDGE  FACTORY  :— 
At  the  time  of  the  Armistice  this  factory  was  manufacturing 
eighteen-pound er  brass  cartridge  cases  at  the  rate  of  25,000  per 
week  ;  the  lowest  cost  of  manufacture  which  had  been  attained 
was  73.  6d.  per  case,  including  allowances  for  depreciation,  while 
the  contract  price  allowed  by  the  Ministry  of  Munitions  was  8s. 

It  should  be  pointed  out  that  the  work  of  manufacturing 
cartridge  cases  requires  a  considerable  amount  of  heavy 
machinery,  such  as  presses.  As  Waterford  is  remote  from  any 
engineering  centre,  being  one  hundred  miles  from  any  machine 
shop  containing  large  machine  tools,  the  Waterford  National 
Cartridge  Factory  had  to  depend  on  its  own  resources  entirely 
for  getting  the  plant  in  good  working  order,  and  on  certain 
occasions  when  heavy  repairs  were  required  these  were  success- 
fully carried  out  by  the  factory  staff.  Further,  the  work  of 
manufacturing  cartridge  cases  requires  a  continual  supply  of 
press  and  lathe  tools.  As  the  supply  of  these  tools  from  England 
could  not  be  depended  upon  they  were  manufactured  entirely 
at  the  factory.  The  workpeople  showed  themselves  capable  of 
producing  work  to  a  very  high  degree  of  accuracy.  Those  who 
have  been  engaged  in  cartridge-case  making  will  be  interested  to 
note  that  the  annular  ring  difficulty  was  entirely  overcome  at 
Waterford . 

GALWAY  NATIONAL  SHELL  FACTORY :— The  Galway 
National  Shell  Factory,  which  was  producing  eighteen-pounder 
shell,  was  quite  a  small  factory,  there  being  only  eighty-four 
persons  employed,  and  the  output  of  eighteen-pounder  shell 
at  the  time  of  the  Armistice  was  about  800  per  week.  It  is  a  very 
difficult  matter  to  work  so  small  a  factory  as  this  economically 
on  the  production  of  eighteen-pounder  shell.  At  the  time 
mentioned  the  cost  of  manufacturing  eighteen-pounder  shell 
was  I2s.  7^d.,  as  against  the  contract  price  allowed  by  the 
Ministry  of  Munitions  of  123.  Plans  had  been  formulated  to 

14 


210   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

increase  the  output  at  this  factory  to  about  2,000  shell  per  week. 
This  would  have  been  an  economical  output  and  would  un- 
doubtedly have  resulted  in  a  very  marked  reduction  in  cost. 

CORK  NATIONAL  SHELL  FACTORY  :— This  factory  was 
engaged  in  the  production  of  4.5  inch  shell.  The  number  of 
operatives  was  about  120,  and  the  average  weekly  output  of  shell, 
in  October,  1918,  was  565.  As  in  the  case  of  Gal  way,  the  Cork 
factory  was  too  small  to  form  an  economical  unit,  but  it  was  being 
steadily  worked  up  to  an  economical  capacity  at  the  time  of  the 
Armistice. 

The  following  Return  shows  the  quantity  and  value  of  the 
deliveries  made  by  the  National  Munition  Factories  in  Ireland 
from  their  inception  up  to  March  7,  1919 : — 


Name  of  Factory. 

Description. 

Quantity 
Passed 
Inspection. 

Value 
(at  Stand- 
ard Price). 

Dublin     National 
Shell  Factory 

i8-pounder  and 
9.2"  shells 

518,541 

i 
569,951 

Dublin     National 
Fuse  Factory 

(Shell  Fuses 
(A.G.S.  Bolts 

310,234 
187,281 

96,192 
2,029 

Waterford  National 
Cartridge  Factory 

Cartridge 
cases. 

246,637 

99,604 

Cork         National 
Shell  Factory 

4-5*  H.E. 
Shell. 

29,325 

44,067 

Gal  way    National 
Shell  Factory 

i8-pounder 
H.E.  Shell. 

30,713 

TOTAL 
VALUE 

19453 

£631,296 

The  total  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  above  factories 
on  the  date  of  the  signing  of  the  Armistice,  viz., 
November  u,  1918,  was  2,148,  made  up  as  follows  :— 


GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS 


211 


National  Factory. 

Males. 

Females. 

Total. 

Dublin  Shell  Factories 

278 

531 

809 

Dublin  Fuse  Factory 

123 

434 

557 

Waterford  Cartridge  Factory 

262 

257 

519 

Cork  Shell  Factory 

34 

114 

148 

Galway  Shell  Factory 

25 

90 

"5 

TOTALS 

722 

1,426 

2,148 

The  establishment  of  a  National  Shell  Factory  at  Galway 
in  1917  was  the  outcome  of  a  persistent  agitation  carried  on 
by  the  All-Ireland  Committee  and  brought  to  finality  at  a 
Conference  between  members  of  the  Committee  and  Mr. 
E.  S.  Montague,  M.P.  (then  Minister  of  Munitions),  in  October, 
1916,  when  the  Committee's  Chairman — Mr.  John  O'Neill — 
successfully  advocated  this  claim  in  what  an  English  K.C., 
who  was  present  at  the  interview,  described  as  the  most 
perfect  example  of  concentrated  pleading  he  had  ever  listened  to. 

A  typical  illustration  of  the  point  of  view  of  the  Ministry's 
officials  in  regard  to  the  placing  of  contracts  for  munition 
work  with  Irish  firms  is  contained  in  the  following  excerpt 
from  a  Report  of  a  deputation  from  the  All-Ireland  Munitions 
Committee  which  waited  on  the  Chiefs  of  the  Ministry's  Box 
Department,  in  London,  in  1918.  The  Report  stated  : 

We  were  immediately  told,  without  equivocation,  that  they 
did  not  care  if  they  never  got  any  more  boxes  from  Ireland,  and 
that  they  were  being  pressed  by  English  contractors,  particularly 
by  those  in  the  Liverpool  district,  to  place  more  orders  with 
them  and  stop  the  import  of  boxes  ;  that  what  they  wanted  from 
us  was  timber  for  caseboards,  either  dried  or  undried,  they  did 
not  mind  which,  and  that  they  would  get  all  the  manufacture 
carried  out  in  England.  They  seem  to  consider  that  any  work 
already  given  us  is  rather  in  the  light  of  charity  than  a  right  to 
which  we  are  entitled,  remembering  that  we  bear  our  full  share 
of  taxation  with  the  rest  of  the  Kingdom. 

It  cost,  approximately,  £350  to  convert  £ioo's  worth  of 
round  timber  into  ammunition  boxes.  Consequently,  the 
reader  will  be  able  to  appreciate  the  loss  sustained  by  Irish 
labour  through  being  deprived  of  a  fair  share  of  this  work. 


212  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  production  of  shells  and  component  parts  of  shells, 
as  well  as  other  metal  munition  work,  executed  by  Irish 
private  firms,  was,  admittedly,  equal  to  the  best  produced 
elsewhere.  Despite  this  fact,  the  efforts  made  by  these 
firms  to  persuade  the  Ministry  to  place  extensive  contracts 
with  them  were  fruitless. 

The  following  particulars  represent  the  total  quantity  and 
value  of  goods  made  in  Ireland  under  contract  with  the 
Ministry  of  Munitions  by  private  firms  situated  in  the  No.  10, 
or  Southern  Area,  and  delivered  to  the  Ministry's  stores  up 
to  March  7,  1919 : — 


Description. 

Quantity 
Passed 
Inspection. 

Value,  £ 

Boxes  (wood  and  tin) 

3,267,785 

869,295 

Shells     

648,150 

561,471 

Gains 

2,418,168 

112,350 

Adapters 

808,150 

35,ioi 

Plugs  (Fuse  Hole) 

406,427 

28,234 

Fuses 

52,983 

24,377 

Screwed    Rings   (for   exploder 

Containers) 

l6o,022 

5,885 

Nose  Bushes  (Brass),  for  shell 

7»556 

1,227 

Hammers  for  Fuse  No.  106    .  . 

5,626 

135 

Pistol  Bombs 

4O,OOO 

6,500 

Turnbuckles 

29,071 

4-563 

TOTAL 
VALUE 

£1,649,138 

The  present  writer  requested  the  Ministry  to  supply  him 
with  a  complete  Return  showing  the  quantity,  description, 
and  value  of  goods  supplied  from  Ireland  to  the  order  of  the 
Ministry.  In  the  middle  of  September,  1919,  he  received  a 
return,  a  copy  of  which  follows,  together  with  a  covering 
letter,  which  stated  : 

It  is  regretted  that,  owing  to  the  demobilization  of  the  area 
organization  of  the  Ministry  in  Ireland,  it  is  impossible  to  supply 
a  complete  and  detailed  return,  certain  large  contracts  for  aero- 
planes, etc.,  placed  in  the  Belfast  area  having  been  omitted. 


GOVERNMENT  CONTRACTS 


213 


OFFICIAL     RETURN     OF     THE     VALUE     OF    GOODS,    ETC., 

SUPPLIED      FROM     IRELAND     TO     THE     ORDER     OF     THE 

MINISTRY    OF    MUNITIONS. 

BELFAST    AREA. 

DUBLIN    AREA. 

Description  of  Supplies. 

Firms. 
Value  £. 

Firms. 
Value  £. 

National 
factories 
Value  I. 

Total  Value  £. 

Shells  and  Com- 

ponents (includ- 
ing packages) 
Trench  Warfare 

939,900 

1,672,726 

662,458 

3,275,084 

Supplies 
Linen  Fabric 
Other  Aero- 

* 

6,500 

— 

6,500 

11,380,46s1 

nautical  Supplies 
Building  Plant, 
Machinery  etc. 

* 
* 

6,604 
81,659 

2,081 

8,685 
81,659 

TOTALS  :    £ 

939,900 

1,767,489 

664,539 

14752,396 

The  foregoing  return  shows  that  the  total  value  of  the  work 
executed  in  the  Dublin  Area  a  for  the  Ministry  from  the  date 
of  its  inception  up  to  September,  1919,  amounted  to  less  than 
two  and  a  half  million  pounds  sterling ;  of  this  amount 
£1,685,830  was  the  value  of  the  production  of  private  firms  ; 
£664,539  being  the  value  of  the  goods  produced  in  the  five, 
so-called,  national  factories  established  in  Ireland,  and 
£81,659  being  expended  on  buildings,  plant,  etc.  The  total 

*  "  The  figures  given  for  the  Belfast  Area  do  not  include  the  value  of 
certain  of  the  contracts  for  aircraft  and  trench  warfare  supplies, 
machinery  and  miscellaneous  supplies.  Complete  information  under 
these  heads  is  not  available,  owing  to  the  closing  of  the  ministry 
branches  in  the  area." 

1  "  The  great  majority  of  the  contracts  for  linen  were  executed  with 
firms  in  the  Belfast  Area." 

2  The  Dublin  Area  extended  from  Drogheda,  in  Co.  Louth,  to  Tralee, 
in  Co.  Kerry,  and  from  Wexford  to  Sligo. 


214   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

expenditure  of  the  Ministry  of  Munitions  for  general  supplies 
up  to  March  31,  1918,  according  to  the  Auditor-General's 
Report,  was  £1,101,230,693.  To  comment  on  these  figures 
would  be  to  doubt  the  intelligence  of  my  readers,  therefore  I 
shall  let  the  figures  speak  for  themselves. 

During  the  three  years  of  its  existence  the  All-Ireland  Muni- 
tions and  Government  Supplies  Committee — an  absolutely 
non-political  body — had  to  keep  up  a  persistent  agitation 
to  secure  even  the  few  crumbs  of  munition  work  that  reached 
Ireland ;  they  had  to  send  deputations  to  London  almost 
every  few  months  for  this  purpose  ;  they  were  never  consulted 
by  the  Ministry  as  to  the  best  steps  to  adopt  to  equip  the 
Irish  national  factories  so  as  to  procure  satisfactory  results 
from  them  ;  nor  were  they  given  any  authority  or  control  in 
respect  of  those  concerns — (in  Great  Britain  many  of  the 
national  factories  were  controlled  by  similar  organizations) ; 
from  beginning  to  end  every  possible  obstacle  was  put  in  the 
way  of  the  extension  of  munition  work  in  the  Dublin  area, 
and  the  officials  in  London  invariably  looked  upon  the  Com- 
mittee's activities  with  an  air  of  hostility.  Even  when  the 
plant  and  machinery  of  the  Irish  national  factories  were  no 
longer  required  for  war-work  the  offers  made  by  Irish  firms 
to  purchase  them — in  some  cases  to  carry  on  the  factories 
as  going  concerns,  in  others  to  utilize  the  bulk  of  the  machinery 
in  engineering  works  in  Ireland — were  rejected  and  the  plant 
and  machinery  were  sold  piece-meal  by  public  auction,  most 
of  it  going  to  the  other  side  of  the  channel.  At  least  one 
useful  result  emerged  from  this  series  of  disappointing  inci- 
dents. It  was  this,  that  the  eyes  of  Irish  business-men  were 
fully  opened  to  the  hopelessness  of  their  expecting  to  receive 
anything  like  fair-play  from  English  Government  officials — 
high  or  low. 

It  would  be  unjust  to  close  this  chapter  without  bearing 
testimony  to  the  work  of  Mr.  John  O'Neill,  the  Chairman 
of  the  All-Ireland  Munitions  and  Government  Supplies  Com- 
mittee. This  gentleman,  whose  own  business  occupied  a 
great  amount  of  his  attention,  was  unsparing  in  giving  time, 
thought,  and  energy  to  the  affairs  of  the  Committee.  He  it 
was  who  chiefly  guided  its  actions,  and  to  him  and  his  remark- 
able clear-mindedness  and  power  of  foresight  is  due  the  main 
share  of  whatever  success  accrued  as  a  result  of  the  Com- 
mittee's activities. 


CHAPTER  XII 
TRANSIT 

THE  trade  and  industry  of  a  country  deprived  of  satis- 
factory transit  facilities  must  languish;  if  the 
restraint  be  prolonged  a  sufficient  length  of  time 
the  competition  of  more  favoured  rivals  will  complete  the 
work  of  trade  and  industrial  extermination.  These  truths 
are  so  axiomatic  that  one  hesitates  to  state  them  ;  yet,  when 
we  search  for  evidence  of  their  realization  by  Irish  traders 
and  industrialists  the  result  is  disappointing. 

Commissions  of  Inquiry  have  sat  in  Ireland  from  time  to 
time,  and  investigated  the  subject  of  our  existing  and  potential 
transit  resources  ;  they  have  issued  reports,  usually  recom- 
mending much  needed  reforms,  but  there  the  matter  has 
ended.  Little  or  no  sustained  effort  has  been  made  by  Irish 
industrialists  and  traders,  as  a  whole,  to  secure  that  these 
recommendations  shall  be  acted  upon,  and  the  authorities, 
taking  advantage  of  this  inertia,  have  allowed  Ireland's  transit 
resources  to  remain  undeveloped.  Concurrent  with  this 
arrested  progress  in  Ireland,  a  vast  expansion  of  transit 
resources,  with  its  concomitant  development  of  trade  and 
industry,  has  been  proceeding  in  many  other  countries. 
Whilst  Ireland's  trade  has  remained  relatively  stationary 
theirs  has  forced  ahead. 

The  present  world-shortage  of  food-stuffs  and  of  almost  all 
kinds  of  commodities  in  general  use  is  inclined  to  dull  one's 
vision  regarding  prospective  trade  competition.  The  situa- 
tion may  be  summed-up  in  the  words  of  a  manufacturer,  who 
recently  stated  that  he  had  asked  his  travellers  to  go  and  play 
golf,  not  to  seek  for  orders,  as  his  output  was  already  bespoke 
for  some  time  ahead.  This  is  a  pleasant  position  for  a  manu- 
facturer to  find  himself  placed  in,  and  would  be  an  ideal  posi- 
tion for  him  if  it  could  be  counted  upon  to  continue 
indefinitely.  But  it  is  obvious  that  eventually  the  conditions 

215 


216  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

under  which  the  world  has  laboured  during  the  past  six  years 
must  pass  away  ;  the  balance  of  production  will  right  itself, 
and  there  will  then  arise  a  keener  and  more  exacting  competi- 
tion to  supply  the  requirements  of  the  world's  markets  than, 
perhaps,  at  any  earlier  period  in  history.  The  nations  that 
are  first  to  organize  their  trade  so  as  to  be  prepared  to  meet 
this  competition  stand  the  best  chance  of  reaping  the  harvest. 
The  cost  of  production  of  goods  will  be  the  prime  factor  in 
the  struggle,  and  this  cannot  reach  a  competitive  point  in 
Ireland  unless  transit  facilities  are  considerably  improved  and 
extended  and  the  present  rates  of  carriage  of  goods  are 
reduced.  If  the  Irish  commercial  community  fails  to  exert 
itself  to  prevent  the  handicapping  of  its  future  trade  by  the 
imposition  of  excessive  transit  rates,  and  the  absence  or  reduc- 
tion of  necessary  transit  facilities,  the  consequences  in  the 
course  of  the  next  few  years  must  prove  more  serious  than  is 
at  present  realized. 

Moderate  progress  has  taken  place  in  Ireland  in  the  past 
forty  years  so  far  as  the  extension  of  railway  facilities  are 
concerned  ;  the  facilities  derivable  from  the  utilization  of 
our  extensive  internal  waterways  has  been  to  a  large  extent 
stultified  owing  to  causes  which  we  shall  deal  with  more 
fully  a  little  later  ;  further,  Ireland  in  pre-war  days  was 
supplied  with  a  fairly  satisfactory  cross-channel  shipping 
service,  but  she  labours  under  the  heavy  handicap  of  not  hav- 
ing sufficient  direct  shipping  communication  with  countries 
further  abroad.  The  following  brief  description  of  each  of 
these  factors  may  assist  the  reader  to  obtain  some  idea  of  how 
Ireland  stands  in  respect  to  transit  facilities. 


I.      RAILWAYS 

The  first  railway  constructed  in  Ireland  was  the  line  from 
Dublin  to  Kingstown  (six  miles  in  length),  which  commenced 
to  operate  in  1834.  This  was  followed,  in  1839,  by  a  section 
of  the  Ulster  Railway  ;  the  next  being  the  Dublin  and  Drog- 
heda  Railway,  opened  in  1844  (both  of  the  latter  lines  are  now 
merged  in  the  Great  Northern  Railway  Coy.'s  system).  By 
1851  the  following  lines  had  been  established,  namely : 
Sections  of  the  Great  Southern  and  Western  Railway  Com- 


TRANSIT  217 

pany,  the  Midland  Great  Western,  Midland  (Northern  Counties 
Committee),  the  Belfast  and  County  Down,  and  the  Cork, 
Bandon,  and  South  Coast  Railway  Companies.  To-day  the 
principal  Irish  railway  companies  are  :  The  Great  Southern 
and  Western  Company,  whose  main  line  extends  from  Dublin 
to  Queenstown,  and  which,  altogether,  administers  a  service 
covering  a  mileage  of  about  1,500  miles.  The  Great  Northern 
Company's  main  line  extends  from  Dublin  to  Belfast,  and 
the  total  mileage  operated  is  about  800  miles.  The  Midland 
Great  Western  Coy.'s  main  line  extends  from  Dublin  to  Galway, 
and  the  total  mileage  operated  is  about  800  miles.  Some  of 
the  smaller  undertakings  are  the  Belfast  and  Northern 
Counties  line  (owned  by  the  Midland  Railway  Coy.  of 
England),  with  a  mileage  of  364  miles.  The  Dublin  and 
South-Eastern  Company's  main  line  extends  from  Dublin  to 
Waterford,  and  the  mileage  operated  is  about  220  miles. 
The  Cork,  Bandon,  and  South  Coast  Company's  main  line 
extends  from  Cork  City  to  Baltimore  (Co.  Cork),  and  the 
total  mileage  operated  by  this  Company  is  about  100  miles. 

There  are  about  thirty  Light  Railways  in  Ireland  operating 
a  total  mileage  of  a  little  over  600  miles.  The  majority  of 
these  are  worked  by  the  larger  railway  companies,  whilst  a 
few  are  worked  by  Committees  of  Management  of  County 
Councils.  In  most  cases  these  lines  have  been  unable  to  pay 
their  way  out  of  the  revenues  earned  by  them  from  the  carriage 
of  traffic,  and  resort  has  had  to  be  made  to  the  Baronial 
guarantees,  under  which  the  lines  were  constructed,  to  pay 
the  dividends  for  which  the  companies  are  liable.  The  space 
at  my  disposal  does  not  permit  of  my  dealing  with  the  history 
of  the  Light  Railways  of  Ireland.  I  would  refer  the  reader 
who  is  interested  in  this  subject  to  the  valuable  account  of 
the  creation  and  working  of  these  lines  which  appears  in  the 
Final  Report  of  the  Viceregal  Commission  on  Irish  Railways, 
1906,  pp.  49-75  (Cd.  5247). 

At  the  present  day  there  are  twenty-five  working  Railway 
Companies  in  Ireland  operating  a  total  of  about  3,493  miles, 
of  which  about  2,722  miles  are  single  line.  The  following 
comparative  statement1  for  the  decennial  periods  from  1882- 

1  Extracted  from  an  article  contributed  by  Mr.  Joseph  Ingram 
(then  Secretary,  Irish  Railway  Clearing  House,  now  Director  of  Finance 
and  Statistics,  Irish  Branch  Ministry  of  Transport)  to  the  Jubilee  No. 
of  the  Railway  News,  1914. 


218  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

igi2l  shows,  at  a  glance,  the  progress  which  Irish  railways  had 
made  in  that  period  : 


1882. 

1892. 

1902. 

1912. 

Length     of     line 

open    for    traffic. 

Miles 

2465 

2,895 

3,215 

3,403 

Total  No.  of  pas- 

sengers      carried 

(exclusive          of 

season         ticket- 

holders)           No. 

18,723,988 

22,647,010 

28,210,468 

29,162,404 

Weight    of    goods 

and  minerals  con- 

veyed.          Tons 

3,837,856 

4,321,459 

5,273,622 

6,701,881 

Total         paid-up 

capital      (exclus- 

ive   of    nominal 

additions).           £ 

34,962,665 

38,298,521 

40,244,012 

45,133,187 

Gross         receipts 

from  all  sources.  £ 

2,810,876 

3,i77,75i 

24,026,379 

24,545,372 

Working 

expenses.            £ 

1,542,751 

1,737,511 

22,445,509 

22,841,955 

Net  receipts.       £ 

1,268,125 

1,440,240 

1,580,870 

1,703,417 

Percentage        o  f 

net     receipts    to 

total         paid-up 

capital 

3-63 

3-76 

3-93 

3-77 

Percentage         o  f 

working     expen- 

diture   to    gross 

receipts 

55 

55 

61 

63 

Population         of 

Ireland 

5,101,018 

4,633,8o8 

4,434,551 

4,384,710 

1  The  Government  having  taken  over  control  of  British  and  Irish 
railways  during  the  war  years,  the  usual  Board  of  Trade  returns  have 
not  been  issued  since  1913.     Consequently,  this  statement  cannot  be 
brought  up-to-date. 

2  Gross  receipts  and  working  expenses  of  hotels  included. 


TRANSIT  219 

Irish  manufacturers  have  almost  invariably  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  persuade  Irish  Railway  Companies  to  adjust  their  rates 
so  as  actively  to  encourage  the  development  of  Irish  Industry. 
The  policy  adopted  by  the  companies  has  been  to  fix  rates 
of  carnage  at  the  highest  figures  which  they  believed  the 
various  classes  of  merchandise  were  capable  of  bearing. 
This  resulted,  in  numerous  cases,  in  Irish  firms  being  unable  to 
sell  their  goods  competitively  over  a  wide  area,  and  in  their 
being  charged  considerably  more  for  the  transit  of  certain 
classes  of  traffic  from  one  point  to  another  in  Ireland  than  the 
proportions  received  by  the  Companies  as  their  share  of  the 
through-rates  on  similar  goods  imported  into  this  country 
from  across-channel  and  carried  to  the  same  destinations.1 
Unquestionably  the  Companies  could  have  done  a  great  deal 
more  than  they  have  done  to  assist  in  the  expansion  of  Irish 
industries. 

1  "  On  the  apth  June  a  deputation  from  the  Irish  Industrial  Develop- 
ment Association  met  the  managers  of  the  Irish  railways  in  conference 
at  the  Irish  Railway  Clearing  House.  The  main  objects  of  the  deputa- 
tion were  (i)  to  ascertain  what  proportions  Irish  railways  received  out 
of  through  cross-channel  rates,  and  (2)  to  urge  the  railway  companies 
to  assimilate  their  local  rates  with  their  shares  of  the  corresponding 
through  rates,  with  a  view  to  placing  the  Irish  trader  on  a  footing  of 
equality  with  the  cross-channel  trader  in  respect  of  charges  for  convey- 
ance of  goods  on  the  Irish  railways.  According  to  the  evidence  of  the 
secretary  of  the  Association,  the  general  manager  of  the  Great  Northern 
Railway,  who  was  in  the  chair  on  that  occasion,  stated  to  the  deputa- 
tion that  if  the  railway  companies  carried  Irish  goods  between  stations 
at  the  same  charge  as  imported  goods,  they  would  soon  be  in  the 
Bankruptcy  Court.  The  witness  for  the  Associated  Railway  Companies 
gave  a  different  version  of  the  chairman's  statement,  which,  in  his 
recollection,  was  to  the  effect  that  if  all  the  Irish  rates  were  based  on 
the  special  low  through  rates,  this  would  land  the  companies  in  bank- 
ruptcy. The  chairman  himself  told  us  that  the  deputation  had 
demanded  such  sweeping  reductions  in  rates  that,  if  complied  with, 
the  companies  would  soon  be  bankrupt.  Whatever  the  precise  words 
used  on  this  occasion  may  have  been,  we  think  there  is  no  room  for 
doubt  as  to  the  substance  either  of  the  claim  advanced  by  the  deputa- 
tion or  of  the  chairman's  reply.  The  cross-channel  through  rates  being 
keenly  competitive  and  the  Irish  local  rates  being,  as  a  rule,  non- 
competitive,  it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  the  through  rates  are  on  lower, 
and  the  local  rates  on  higher,  scales  of  charges.  When  an  Irish  local 
rate  on  a  higher  scale  and  a  cross-channel  rate  on  a  lower  scale  are 
combined  to  form  the  basis  of  a  through  rate,  then  an  apportionment 
of  such  through  rate,  according  to  mileage,  or  on  any  analogous  prin- 
ciple of  division,  would  give  the  Irish  company,  as  its  share,  a  smaller 
sum  than  the  amount  of  its  own  locajj^ite.  Further,  inasmuch  as 


220   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

In  the  year  1873  an  Act  of  Parliament  came  into  force  which 
required  railway  companies  to  keep  at  their  stations  books 
containing  every  rate  for  the  time  being  charged  for  the  carriage 
oj  traffic.  This  Act  also  created  a  Commission,  consisting 
of  three  members,  one  of  whom  must  be  a  lawyer,  one  a  man 
familiar  with  railway  questions,  and  none  of  whom  should  in 

the  cross-channel  through  rate,  by  the  shortest  route  between  any  two 
points,  is  applied  to  all  other  routes  between  the  same  points — irre- 
spective of  their  length — it  follows  that  the  Irish  share  of  the  through 
rates  by  the  longer  routes  would  be  much  less  than  the  company's 
local  rate.  Hence  a  proposal  to  reduce  the  local  rates  on  conveyance 
of  Irish  goods  to  the  level  of  the  Irish  share  of  the  through  rate  on 
imported  goods  of  the  same  description,  would  point  to  a  loss  of  revenue 
which,  in  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Tatlow,  would  jeopardise  dividends,  or,  in 
the  opinion  of  Colonel  Plews,  would  lead  the  Irish  companies  into  bank- 
ruptcy. 

"  Numerous  complaints  to  the  same  effect  as  those  made  by  the  depu- 
tation were  brought  before  us,  and  we  considered  it  desirable  to  give 
the  railway  companies  an  opportunity  of  informing  us  whether  they 
accepted,  in  respect  of  certain  imported  commodities,  a  proportion  of 
the  through  rates  less  than  the  local  rates  charged  for  such  goods 
between  the  same  points.  We  accordingly  asked  the  Railway 
Committee,  representing  all  the  Associated  railway  companies,  to 
furnish  us  with  particulars  of  the  model  settlements  which  show  each 
local  rate  forming  part  of  a  through  rate.  We  also  asked  for  the  appor- 
tionment, between  the  companies  concerned,  of  the  amounts  of  certain 
existing  through  rates  for  a  number  of  selected  commodities  fairly 
typical  of  traffic  between  Ireland  and  England  via  Dublin,  and  via 
Cork.  The  Committee  declined,  however,  to  give  this  information, 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  not  at  liberty  to  disclose  matters  which 
were  the  exclusive  concern  of  the  companies  and  which,  in  their  opinion, 
did  not  affect  the  rates  paid  by  the  public.  We  were  told  that  the 
committee  were  unanimous  in  refusing  to  furnish  the  information, 
as  individual  companies  objected  to  having  the  apportionment  of  rates 
made  known  to  other  companies  in  England  and  Ireland  ;  the  com- 
mittee, moreover,  thought  that  such  particulars  were  not  really 
necessary  for  the  purpose  of  the  inquiry.  We  regret  that  the  Irish 
companies  did  not  see  their  way  to  accede  to  our  request,  which  was 
prompted  by  the  wish  to  obtain  information  to  enable  us  to  estimate 
what  part  of  the  revenue  of  a  unified  railway  system  would  be  repre- 
sented by  reductions  of  internal  and  export  rates,  such  as,  in  our  judg- 
ment, might  be  required  to  promote  '  the  expansion  of  traffic  upon 
the  Irish  lines  and  their  full  utilization  for  the  development  of  the 
agricultural  and  industrial  resources  of  Ireland.'  We  need  only  add 
that  the  refusal  of  the  railway  companies  to  supply  the  particulars 
asked  for  is  calculated  to  strengthen  and  perpetuate  the  conviction  that 
imported  goods  are  carried  over  the  railways  at  lower  rates  than  are 
like  commodities  produced  in  the  country." — Final  Report,  Viceregal 
Commission  on  Irish  Railways,  1906,  paragraphs  30,  31,  pp.  10,  n. 


TRANSIT  221 

any  way  be  financially  interested  in  railway  or  canal  under- 
takings. The  Commission  had  the  power  of  a  division  of  the 
High  Court  and  its  decisions  were  final  on  questions  of  fact. 
Its  duties  were  to  hear  and  determine  complaints  respecting 
the  lack  of  reasonable  facilities — as  prescribed  by  law — and 
those  having  reference  to  allegations  of  undue  preference. 
It  'was  also  empowered  to  arbitrate  between  the  companies 
in  cases  of  dispute,  and  adjudicate  equally  on  matters  of 
technical  organization,  as  in  the  fixing  and  division  of  trans- 
port charges,  in  order  to  compel  the  various  railway  companies 
to  co-operate  in  the  establishment  of  through  services. 

The  Railway  and  Canal  Act  of  I8881  confirmed  and 
extended  the  powers  of  the  Commission  and  enforced  on 
Canal  Companies  some  of  the  obligations  imposed  on  the  rail- 
ways, notably  those  which  had  reference  to  the  publication  of 
tariffs  and  the  compilation  of  Returns.  It  gives  to  the  Com- 
mission, so  far  as  the  canals  under  railway  management  are 
concerned,  the  right  to  require  that  the  charges  and  tolls  of 
any  kind  collected  for  the  transport  of  goods  on  the  canals 
shall  be  reasonable  when  compared  with  railway  charges. 
The  Act  further  requires  companies  to  maintain  a  good  state 
of  navigation  on  canals  belonging  to  them.  A  further  Act 
(1894)  provided  that  railway  companies  could  be  called  upon 
to  justify  before  the  Railway  Commission  all  increases  of 
rates  since  December  31,  1892,  even  though  such  increases 
were  within  their  statutory  maxima. 

Theoretically,  the  Railway  Commission  safeguards  the 
interests  of  the  trader.  In  practice,  however,  the  latter  has 
obtained  very  little  benefit  from  this  source.  Its  interven- 
tion, so  far  as  Irish  traders  are  concerned,  has  been  availed  of 
on  only  a  very  limited  number  of  occasions.  The  reasons  for 
this  reluctance  to  invoke  its  aid  are  that  the  trader  must  be 
prepared  to  spend  a  considerable  amount  of  money  in  con- 
ducting an  action  against  a  railway  company  ;  that  the  com- 
panies, on  account  of  the  highly-trained  organizations  they 
possess,  are  able  to  put  forward  a  skilfully  prepared  defence 
which  the  ordinary  trader  often  is  unable  to  upset,  owing  to 

1  Section  thirty-three  requires  the  publication  by  every  railway 
company,  at  every  station  at  which  merchandise  is  dealt  with,  of  a 
notice  that  the  rate  books  required  by  law  are  open  to  public  inspection, 
and  that  information  as  to  any  charge  can  be  obtained  on  application 
to  the  secretary  or  other  officer. 


222  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

the  limited  data  at  his  command  ;  consequently,  though  the 
latter  may  have  a  genuine  grievance  against  a  railway  com- 
pany, he  is  not  always  able  to  present  it  in  such  a  way  as  to 
obtain  satisfaction ;  further,  when  a  trader  succeeds  in  his 
action  and  the  company  is,  for  instance,  ordered  to  reduce  the 
rate  complained  of,  there  is  no  guarantee  that  the  company 
will  not  again  raise  it  after  a  time,  the  trader  thus  being  faced 
with  the  task  and  expense  of  conducting  a  further  action 
before  the  Commission. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical  Instruction 
for  Ireland  is  empowered  to  inquire  into  complaints  of  exces- 
sive railway  rates  and,  if  unable  to  obtain  redress  from  the 
companies  concerned,  to  institute  proceedings  within  certain 
limits  before  the  Railway  Commission  out  of  the  funds  at 
its  disposal.  The  Department  has  intervened  in  this  manner 
on  a  few  occasions.  In  the  opinion  of  the  present  writer  the 
Railway  Commission  is  far  too  costly  and  cumbersome  a 
tribunal  to  be  of  use  to  traders  in  general.  A  simpler  and 
less  costly  tribunal  for  dealing  with  complaints  by  traders 
against  railway  companies  is  needed  and  should  be  instituted. 

At  the  time  of  writing  the  position  in  regard  to  the  future 
of  the  British  and  Irish  railways  is  somewhat  uncertain. 
During  the  war,  on  January  i,  1917, 1  the  Government 
took  over  control  of  the  Irish  Railways  and  appointed  an 
Irish  Railway  Executive  Committee  to  administer  them. 
The  Directors  and  staffs  of  the  various  companies  continued 
to  discharge  their  usual  duties  but  were  required  to  conform, 
in  the  operation  of  the  railways,  to  whatever  instructions  were 
given  to  them  by  the  Government  through  the  local  Railway 
Executive  Committee.  The  terms  of  compensation  upon 
which  the  Government  took  over  control  of  railways  were  as 
follows : — 

The  Regulations  of  the  Forces  Act,  1871,  under  which  li.M. 
Government  have  taken  possession  of  most  of  the  railways  of 
Great  Britain,  provides  that  full  compensation  shall  be  paid  to 
the  owners  of  the  railways  for  any  loss  or  injury  that  may  have 
been  sustained  thereby,  the  amount  of  such  compensation  to  be 
settled  by  agreement,  or,  if  necessary,  by  arbitration. 

H.M.  Government  have  agreed  with  the  Railway  Companies 
concerned  that,  subject  to  the  undermentioned  condition,  the 
compensation  to  be  paid  them  shall  be  the  sum  by  which  the 

1  The  Government  took  over  control  of  British  Railways  on 
August  5,  1914. 


TRANSIT  223 

aggregate  net  receipts  of  their  railways  for  the  period  during 
which  the  Government  are  in  possession  of  them  fall  short  of  the 
aggregate  net  receipts  for  the  corresponding  period  of  1913.  If, 
however,  the  net  receipts  of  the  companies  for  the  first  half  of 
1914  were  less  than  the  net  receipts  for  the  first  half  of  1913,  the 
sum  payable  is  to  be  reduced  in  the  same  proportion.  This  sum, 
together  with  the  net  receipts  of  the  railway  companies  taken  over'. 
is  to  be  distributed  amongst  those  companies  in  proportion  to 
the  net  receipts  of  each  company  during  the  period  with  which 
comparison  is  made. 

The  compensation  to  be  paid  under  this  arrangement  will 
cover  all  special  services,  such  as  those  in  connexion  with  military 
and  naval  transport,  rendered  to  the  Government  by  the  railway 
companies  concerned,  and  it  will  therefore  be  unnecessary  to 
make  any  payments  in  respect  of  such  transport  on  the  railways 
taken  over.1 

These  terms  were  subsequently  altered  to  the  following 
extent,  viz.  : — 

Under  the  original  agreement  the  sum  paid  in  compensation 
to  the  companies  concerned  was  the  sum  by  which  the  aggregate 
net  receipts  of  their  railways  for  the  period  during  which  the 
Government  were  in  possession  of  them  fell  short  of  the  aggre- 
gate net  receipts  for  the  corresponding  period  of  1913,  subject, 
however,  to  a  proportionate  reduction  if  the  net  receipts  of  the 
companies  for  the  first  half  of  1914  were  less  than  the  net  receipts 
for  the  first  half  of  1913. 

It  has  now  been  agreed  that  this  reduction  shall  not  in  future 
be  made,  but  that  25  per  cent  of  the  war  bonus  granted  to  railway 
employees  who  come  within  the  Railway  Conciliation  Scheme 
shall  be  borne  by  the  railway  companies,  and  not  by  the  Govern- 
ment. 2 

Since  the  termination  of  the  war  an  agitation  has  been 
carried  on  by  the  railwaymen's  and  other  trade  unions  to 
persuade  the  Government  to  permanently  nationalize  the 
railways  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  So  far  the  Govern- 
ment have  refused  to  do  so,  but  the  position  in  respect  to  the 
cost  of  operating  these  lines  has  changed  so  radically  in  the 
past  five  years  that  the  problem  of  their  future  management 
and  control  is  one  which  bristles  with  difficulties.8 

1  Board  oj  Trade  Journal,  September  17,  1914,  p.  7.10. 

2  Board  of  Trade  Journal.  April  22,  1915.  pp.  223-4. 

3  The  Ministry  of  Transport  Act,  1919,  continued  the  Government 
control  of  British  and  Irish  railways  for  two  years  from  August,  1919- 


224  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

Rates  of  carriage  had  been  increased  several  times  be- 
tween 1914  and  1919,  whilst  an  increase  of  fifty  per  cent. 
had  been  added  to  passenger  fares.  Despite  these  increases 
the  loss  incurred  in  operating  British  and  Irish  railway 
services  has  increased  so  considerably  under  State  Control 
that  the  companies  would  be  unable  at  the  moment  to  pay 
dividends  to  the  shareholders  were  the  State  guarantee  with- 
drawn.1 The  Government  have  set  up  a  Committee  to 
prepare  a  new  scale  of  rates  on  a  still  higher  scale  and  intend 
putting  the  new  scale  into  -force  without  delay.  By  this 
means  they  hope  to  secure  a  sufficient  revenue  to  cover  the 
cost  of  running  the  railways  and  to  defray  the  dividend  pay- 
able to  the  shareholders,  thus  leaving  them  free  to  withdraw 
the  State  subsidy. 2 

In  pre-war  days  transit  rates  on  Irish  railways  ranked  higher 
than  those  of  almost  all  other  commercial  nations.3  Allowing 
for  the  fact  that  most  of  these  foreign  countries  have  been 
compelled  to  raise  their  rates  to  some  extent  in  the  interim, 
it  is  questionable  if  Irish  trade  will,  when  it  reverts  to  a  normal, 
competitive  basis,  be  in  a  position  to  withstand  the  handicap 
of  the  additional  imposts  referred  to  without  suffering  very 
seriously  thereby.  It  is  obvious  that  to  recover  trade,  whilst 
the  first  essential  is  increased  production,  vital  factors  are 
the  cheapening  of  the  cost  of  raw  materials  and  the  cost  of 
marketing  the  finished  products.  Ireland  is  dependent  upon 
outside  countries  for  most  of  the  raw  materials  required  by 
her  manufacturers,  and  her  export  trade  represents  the  greater 

1  There  was  a  loss  of  ^3,763,953  on  the  working  of  controlled  railways 
in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  in  the  month  of  December,  1919,  and  the 
net  Government  liability  for  the  month  amounted  to  £7,839,153. 

2  Since  writing  the  above  the  Minister  of  Transport  has  directed  the 
Railway  Companies  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  to  increase  the  tolls, 
rates,  and  charges  published  in  their  books  in  accordance  with  a  new 
scale  which  came  into  force  on   January  15,   1920.     The  new  scale 
makes  additions  of  from  about  thirty  to  sixty  per  cent  in  the  rates  of 
carriage  on  certain  classes  of  goods  and  a  hundred  per  cent  increase  on 
small  parcels  and  returned  empties. — See  Board  of  Trade  Journal, 
January  i,  1920,  pp.  31-32. 

3  "  The  fact  remains  that,  judging  by  the  evidence  placed  at  our 
disposal,  both  the  internal  rates  of  the  foreign  countries  for  which 
comparisons   were   taken,   and   also   their  export  rates    for   produce 
shipped  to  British  markets,  are  relatively  lower  than  the  corresponding 
Irish  rates." — Viceregal  Commission  on   Irish  Railways,    1906,  Final 
Report,  paragraph  75,  p.  32. 


TRANSIT 


225 


proportion  of  her  total  trade.  Consequently,  unless  transit 
rates  are  in  her  favour  the  result  must  prove  serious  so  far 
as  the  future  development  of  her  industries  is  concerned. 

Reference  to  the  recently  appointed  Ministry  of  Transport, 
which  is  now  the  controlling  authority  in  respect  to  transit 
services,  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


2.      CANALS 

A  glance  at  a  map  of  Ireland  would  inform  the  casual 
investigator  that  this  country  is  well  supplied  with  internal 
water-ways.  A  fuller  study  of  the  subject  would,  however, 
make  him  realize  that  the  actual  value  of  these  waterways 
to  the  trading  community  is  far  less  than  he  had  imagined. 
Before  referring  to  some  of  the  causes  which  are  responsible 
for  their  arrested  development,  I  shall  provide  the  reader  with 
a  short  statement  showing  the  extent  of  the  internal  water- 
ways of  Ireland. 


Description. 

Including. 

Length. 

Miles. 

Chains 

Canals1 

Lagan,      Ulster,      Coalisland 

(Tyrone  Navigation),  Stra- 

bane    (Foyle    Navigation), 

Grand,  Newry,  Ship,  Royal, 

and  Ballinamore  and  Bally- 

connell  (derelict) 

430 

53 

Inland2 

Lower  Bahn,  Boyne,  Corrib, 

Navigation 
Waterways 
without 

Newry  and  Shannon 
Upper    Bann,    Lough    Erne, 
Rivers  Maigue,  Suir,  Black- 

268 

72 

locks3 

water  (Cork)  and  Bride 

137 

57 

GRAND  TOTAL 

837 

22 

1  Including  all  artificially  constructed  waterways. 
*  Including  waterways  formed  by  the  canalization  of  nvers. 
»  Some  of  which  are  arms  of  the  sea  leading  to  inland  points  and  use* 
as  inland  waterways. 

15 


226  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

Of  the  foregoing,  165  miles  49  chains  are  owned  or  controlled 
by  the  State,  212  miles  6  chains  by  Local  Authorities  or 
Trusts,  335  miles  58  chains  by  independent  Companies, 
95  miles  69  chains  (the  Royal  Canal)  by  the  Midland  Great 
Western  Railway  Company,  and  25  miles  (the  tidal  rivers 
Blackwater  and  Bride)  are  under  no  direct  control.  The 
Royal  Canal,  which  extends  from  Dublin  to  Richmond 
Harbour,  in  Co.  Longford,  and  runs  almost  parallel  with 
the  Midland  Great  Western  Railway  line  from  Dublin  to 
Mullingar,  in  Co.  Westmeath,  cost  £1,421,900  to  construct. 
Since  the  Railway  Company  obtained  control  of  it,  in  1846, 
traffic  has  decreased,  until  to-day  the  canal  has  almost  ceased 
to  be  used  for  the  conveyance  of  merchandise. 

The  Irish  Canal  Authorities  do  not  publish  traffic  returns, 
as  do  the  Railway  companies,  therefore  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to  supply  up-to-date  information  upon  this  subject,  but 
some  idea  of  the  amount  of  traffic  carried  on  their  systems  may 
be  formed  from  a  return  supplied  by  a  certain  number  of  these 
Authorities  to  a  Royal  Commission  which  inquired  into  this 
question  in  the  year  1906.  This  return  applies  only  to  594 
miles  56  chains  1  out  of  the  total  837  miles  22  chains  of  inland 
waterways  in  Ireland. 


Year. 

Tonnage 
Conveyed. 

1888 
1898 
1905 

865,346 
I,O52,OOO 
1,069,929 

At  the  present  day  several  Irish  canals  lie  wholly  or 
partly  derelict,  whilst  others  are  insufficiently  dredged 
and  do  not  receive  the  attention  necessary  to  make  them  really 
serviceable  factors  in  the  economic  life  of  the  country.  The 
canal  authorities,  general  speaking,  have  displayed  a  total 
lack  of  enterprise  in  encouraging  trade  on  these  routes,  and 
the  belief  exists  that  some  of  them  have  entered  into  arrange- 
ments with  the  neighbouring  railway  companies  whereby  the 

1  This  includes  the  following  waterways  :  Grand,  Lagan,  Newry 
Ship,  Newry  Navigation,  Ulster,  Boyne,  Coalisland,  Strabane,  Shannon, 
Maigue  and  Royal. 


TRANSIT  227 

latter  guarantee  them  against  loss  in  the  event  of  their 
refraining  from  competing  against  the  railway  companies  for 
the  carriage  of  traffic.  This,  of  course,  results  in  traders 
having  to  pay  higher  rates  than  would  obtain  were  the  canal 
services  conducted  on  independent,  competitive  lines.  What 
is  needed  to  make  these  services  really  effective  and  valuable 
to  the  community  is  that  they  should  be  placed  under  the 
control  of  an  absolutely  impartial  and  representative  body  ; 
that  this  body  should  have  no  other  interest  in  them  beyond 
that  of  ensuring  that  they  are  kept  in  proper  order  at  all 
times,  and  that  the  canals  should  be  free,  as  are  the  seas,  for 
the  plying  of  private-owned  boats,  subject,  of  course,  to 
necessary  conditions.  In  short,  that  they  should  become 
well-kept,  public  waterways.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether 
or  not  the  Ministry  of  Transport  will  take  effective  steps  to 
abolish  the  existing  condition  of  affairs  in  this  connexion, 
and  to  provide  the  Irish  public  with  a  really  up-to-date 
internal  waterways  service. 


3.     SHIPPING 

The  modern  history  of  the  Irish  shipping  trade  is  not  an 
enlivening  story.  When  one  considers  that,  geographically, 
Ireland  is  perfectly  situated  in  respect  to  several  of  the  world's 
principal  trade  routes ;  that  few  countries  possess  finer 
harbours;  and  that  she  stands  in  the  forefront  of  ship- 
building nations,  it  seems  almost  incredible  that  she  should 
occupy  so  insignificant  a  space  in  the  picture  of  the  world's 
shipping  trade. 

From  the  year  1825,  when  the  British  and  Irish  Customs 
were  amalgamated,  until  the  year  1904  no  systematic  records 
were  kept  of  the  total  import  and  export  trade  of  this  country. 
But  since  the  latter  mentioned  year  such  records  have  been 
compiled  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical 
Instruction  for  Ireland.  Consequently,  it  is  not  possible  to 
give  the  reader  reliable  data  as  to  Ireland's  shipping  trade  in 
the  earlier  period  referred  to.  The  figures  of  the  registered 
tonnage  of  vessels  which  arrived  at  and  departed  from  our 
ports  during  those  years  is  an  unreliable  guide  to  the  country's 
trade,  for  the  reasons  that  many  of  these  vessels  merely 
discharged  or  loaded  part  cargoes,  whilst  others  arrived  or 


228  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

departed  with  more  or  less  than  the  amount  of  their  registered 
tonnage.  Therefore,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  discarding  this 
method  of  calculation,  and  shall  confine  my  comparisons  to 
the  data  relating  to  the  years  1904-18,  for  which  years  we 
have  what  approximate  to  definite  returns  of  the  trade  in 
imports  and  exports  at  Irish  ports. 


TOTAL  IRISH  IMPORT  AND  EXPORT  TRADE. 

Values  expressed  to  the  nearest  thousand  pounds. 

EXCESS  OF  IMPORTS 

IMPORTS. 

EXPORTS. 

OVER  EXPORTS. 

Value  at 

Value  at 

Value  at 

prices  in 

Value  at 

prices  in 

Value  at 

prices  in 

Value  at 

Year. 

the  year  of 

1904 

the  year 

1904 

the  year 

1904 

importa- 

prices. 

of  expor- 

prices. 

of  ship- 

prices. 

tion. 

tation. 

ment. 

£1,000 

£1,000 

£1,000 

£1,000 

£1,000 

£1,000 

1904 

55,345 

55,345 

49,785 

49,785 

5,560 

5,560 

I9°5 

57.009 

57,095 

51,393 

50,833 

5,6i6 

6,262 

1906 

58,794 

57,523 

56,005 

53,415 

2,789 

4,108 

1907 

63,022 

59,075 

59,160 

54,492 

3,862 

4,583 

1908 

60,190 

56,829 

57,415 

53,702 

2,775 

3,127 

1909 

65,155 

59,486 

60,929 

54,762 

4,226 

4,724 

1910 

66,431 

59,624 

65,896 

56,968 

535 

2,656 

1911 

67,610 

60,322 

65,071 

56,330 

2,539 

3-992 

1912 

73,953 

63,221 

67,168 

56,710 

6,785 

6,5H 

19*3 

74,467 

62,986 

73,877 

60,567 

590 

2,419 

1914 

73,995 

61,176 

77,3H 

63,243 

3,3*6! 

2,067! 

i9!5 

&7,95o 

59,790 

84,463 

58,372 

3,487 

1,418 

1916 

104,517 

56,588 

107,171 

58,848 

2.6541 

2.2601 

1917 

119,964 

49,770 

133,780 

56,702 

I3.8I61 

6.9321 

1918 

126,018 

44,168 

152,903 

50,6ll 

26,885! 

6.4431 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  table  that  although  the  total 
values  of  imports  and  exports  measured  at  war  prices  increased 
enormously  in  the  last  few  years  the  actual  quantities  imported 
and  exported  (as  indicated  by  the  values  at  1904  prices)  decreased 
considerably. 

1  Value  of  exports  greater  than  value  of  imports. 


TRANSIT  229 

The  volume  of  the  import  trade  (measured  at  1904  prices), 
which  was  £62,986,000  in  1913  (as  compared  with  £55,345,000 
in  1904).  fell  to  £49,770,000  in  1917,  and  to  £44,168,000  in  1918. 

The  value  of  the  export  trade  (measured  at  1904  prices),  which 
increased  from  £49,785,000  in  1904  to  £56,968,000  in  1910, 
remained  at  much  the  same  level  hi  1911  and  1912  (in  which 
years  exports  of  cattle  were  abnormally  low  owing  to  the  lack 
of  keep  in  Great  Britain  in  the  very  hot  summer  of  1911  and 
to  shipping  restrictions  in  1912  on  account  of  Foot  and  Mouth 
Disease).  The  volume  of  exports  rose  abruptly  in  1913  and 
1914  chiefly  owing  to  abnormal  exports  of  cattle  in  both  years 
(in  1913  owing  to  the  glut  after  the  restrictions  of  1912,  and  in 
1914  owing  to  the  extremely  heavy  demand  in  Great  Britain 
in  the  first  five  war  months).  The  exports  in  1913  and  1914  were 
accordingly  abnormally  high.  Most  of  the  decline  in  the  volume 
of  export  trade  which  can  be  attributed  to  the  war  took  place 
in  the  year  1918.  The  exports  at  1904  prices  fell  from  £58,372,000, 
in  1915  to  £56,702,000  in  1917,  and  then  dropped  to  £50,611,000 
in  1918. 

The  serious  decrease  during  the  last  few  years  in  the  volume 
of  imports  and  exports  has  some  favourable  aspects  : 

(1)  The  decrease  in  imports  was  made  good  to  some  extent 
by  increased  Irish  production.     For  instance,  the  effect  of  the 
large  decrease  in  the  imports  of  maize  and  other  feeding  stuffs 
was  largely  counterbalanced  by  increased   production  of    Irish 
substitutes  (oats,  potatoes,  etc.),  and  the  decrease  in  the  imports 
of  flax  was  to  some  extent  made  good  by  increased  home  produc- 
tion.    The  decrease  in  imports  of  bacon,  butter,  etc.,  resulted 
in  a  larger  consumption  and  smaller  export  of  the  Irish  article. 
In  other  directions,  however,  Irish  substitutes  were  not  available 
and  the  decreased  importation   (e.g.,  of  sugar)  led  to  a  fully 
equivalent  decrease  in  consumption. 

(2)  From  1915  to  1918,  while  the  volume  of  imports  fell  by 
26  per  cent,  the  volume  of  exports  fell  only  13  per  cent.     In  each 
year  from  1904  to  1913  the  volume  of  the  imports  (measured  at 
1904  prices)  exceeded  the  exports,  but  in  1914,  1916,  1917,  and 
1918  the  volume  of  the  exports  was  greater  than  the  imports. 
Whereas  in  1904  the  volume  of  the  imports  exceeded  the  exports 
by  1 1. 2  per  cent,  in  1918  the  exports  (measured  at  1904  prices) 
exceeded  the  imports  by  14.6  per  cent. 

(3)  While  from  1904  to  1918  the  prices  of  the  commodities 
imported  in  1918  increased  by  185.3  per  cent,  the  prices  of  the 
exports  increased  by  202.1  per  cent. 

The  combined  effect  of  the  changes  (2)  and  (3)  has  been  to  bring 
about  a  considerable  change  in  the  balance  of  trade.  While 
the  total  value  of  the  imports  in  1904  exceeded  the  total  value 
of  the  exports  in  that  year  by  £5,560,000,  or  11.2  per  cent,  the 


230  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

total  value  of  the  exports  in  1918  (at  1918  prices)  exceeded  the 
value  of  the  imports  by  £26,885,000  or  21.3  per  cent.1 

Following  is  a  comparative  table  showing  the  separate 
classes  of  goods,  imported  into  and  exported  from  Ireland  in 
the  years  1916-18  : — 


Valued  at  Prices 
in  the  Year  of 
Shipment. 

Valued  at 
1904  Prices. 

1916 

1917 

1918 

1916 

1917 

1918 

IMPORTS. 

Per 
Cent. 

Per 

Cent. 

Per 
Cent. 

Per 

Cent. 

Per 
Cent. 

Per 

Cent. 

Farm    Produce, 

Food  and  Drink 

37 

34 

27 

37 

34 

30 

Raw  Materials 

17 

18 

17 

16 

16 

15 

Manufactured 

Goods 

46 

48 

56 

47 

50 

55 

TOTAL 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

EXPORTS. 

Farm  Produce, 

Food  and  Drink 

58 

54 

51 

58 

55 

56 

Raw  Materials 

4 

4 

4 

5 

4 

4 

Manufactured 

Goods 

38 

42 

45 

37 

4i 

40 

TOTAL 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

"IOO 

It  is  not  possible  to  ascertain  the  actual  amount  of  the  total 
trade  carried  on  between  Ireland  and  foreign  countries,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  greater  part  of  this  trade  passes  to  and 
from  Irish  ports  via  Great  Britain  and  loses  its  identity  en 
route.  Records  are  kept  of  the  direct  trade  between  Ireland 

1  Report  on  the  Trade  in  Imports  and  Exports  at  Irish  Ports  during 
the  year  ended  December  31,  1918.  Cmd.,  487. 


TRANSIT  281 

and  foreign  countries,  and  we  find  that  the  direct  imports  of 
foreign  goods  into  Ireland  in  the  year  1918  amounted  to  a 
value  of  £15,031,537,  whilst  the  direct  exports  amounted  to 
£559>497- . 

If  definite  figures  were  obtainable  it  would  be  found  that 
little,  if  any,  increase  has  taken  place  in  Ireland's  direct  trade 
with  foreign  countries  during  the  past  seventy  years.  To  a 
certain  extent  this  fact  is  ascribable  to  a  lack  of  organization 
and  co-operation  on  the  part  of  Irish  manufacturers  and 
traders  themselves.  Had  they  joined  forces,  made  a  closer 
study  of  the  needs  of  the  world's  markets,  sought  direct 
openings  abroad  for  Irish  goods  (instead  of  being  content 
to  dispose  of  their  commodities  at  lower  prices  to  cross-channel 
middle-men),  and  organized  collective  direct  shipments  of 
their  goods  to  foreign  markets,  there  is  little  doubt  but  that 
they  would  have  reaped  a  larger  and  more  profitable  harvest. 
Some  Irish  firms  have,  individually,  secured  markets  abroad 
for  their  manufactures,  but  they  have  been  too  few  to  create 
a  satisfactory  direct  shipping  trade. 

The  fault  of  this  sparsity  of  direct  trade  does  not,  however, 
rest  with  Irish  manufacturers  and  traders  alone.  The  more 
powerful  trade  and  shipping  interests  in  Great  Britain  have 
ever  been  jealous  of  Irish  trade  rivalry,  and  have  consistently 
utilized  every  resource  at  their  command  to  check  its  growth, 
whilst  successive  British  Governments  have  lent  their  aid 
in  repressing  Irish  efforts  to  build  up  foreign  trade  connexions. 
The  most  recent  instances  in  proof  of  these  contentions  are : 
(i)  The  case  of  Irish  importers  of  goods  from  the  United  States 
of  America — through  an  English  Oil  Company — who  were 
compelled  by  the  English  firm  to  pay  Liverpool  harbour,  etc., 
dues,  and  freight  charges  from  Liverpool  to  Dublin,  although 
these  goods  were  conveyed  direct  from  New  York  to  Dublin  ; 
and  (2)  the  British  Government  recently  permitted  Irish 
cattle  traders  to  export  cattle  to  France  on  condition  that 
these  cattle  were  sent  via  a  British  port,  not  direct  from 
Ireland  to  France.  This  latter  instance  is  only  one  of  many 
unnecessary  restrictions  enforced  by  the  Government  at  the 
time  of  writing  to  prevent  free  trading  in  goods  between  this 
country  and  countries  abroad.1  What  it  really  amounts  to  is 
this.  That  if  Ireland  has  an  exportable  surplus  of  goods  she 

1  The  subject  of  Government  restriction  of  Irish  Trade  Is  dealt  with 
more  fully  in  the  concluding  chapter  of  this  book. 


232   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

is  compelled,  in  very  many  instances,  to  dispose  of  this 
surplus  to  Great  Britain — often  at  controlled  prices  which 
are  fixed  by  the  British  Government — and  any  profits 
accruing  from  the  subsequent  export  of  these  goods  to  foreign 
countries,  after  the  goods  reach  Great  Britain,  go  into  the 
pockets  of  British  traders. 

When  war  was  declared  in  1914,  the  Government  took  over 
control  of  all  British  and  Irish-owned  vessels  ;  they  comman- 
deered a  considerable  number  for  their  own  purposes  ;  trans- 
ferred many  more  from  their  regular  services  to  services 
elsewhere  which,  in  their  opinion,  were  of  more  immediate 
national  importance,  and,  generally,  reduced  the  services 
which  had  existed  in  pre-war  days.  A  further  depletion  of 
Irish  tonnage  was  caused  by  the  locking-up  of  several  Irish- 
owned  vessels  which  happened  to  be  in  German  ports  at  the 
moment  war  was  declared.  Submarine  warfare  and  mines 
also  took  their  toll,  and  these  several  factors  were  responsible 
for  materially  reducing  the  Irish  mercantile  marine  between 
the  years  1914-19.  It  has  not  been  found  possible  to  obtain 
official  figures  of  the  loss  and  diversion  of  Irish  shipping, 
through  these  causes,  during  the  war  years,  but  this  is  known 
to  have  been  very  considerable.  During  these  years  the 
output  of  merchant  vessels  from  British  and  Irish  shipyards 
was  unable  to  keep  pace  with  the  tonnage  lost ;  and  I  have 
not  been  able  to  trace  that  a  single  steamer  launched  during 
that  period  was  handed  over  to  the  Irish  merchant  service. 

The  following  Table  illustrates  the  growth  of  Irish  shipping 
since  the  year  1850  up  to  1916,  the  latest  year  for  which  the 
figures  are  available  at  the  time  of  writing. 

A  variety  of  causes  have  combined  to  keep  freight  and 
passenger  rates  at  a  much  higher  figure  than  obtained  in 
pre-war  years.  Since  the  year  1913  the  cost  of  new  and 
second-hand  ships  has  risen  by  400  per  cent,  repairs  by  339 
per  cent,  wages  by  130  per  cent,  labour  from  115  per  cent  to 
150  per  cent,  and  cargo-handling  from  150  per  cent  to  200 
per  cent.  Foodstuffs,  stores,  dock  and  canal  dues,  and  all 
equipment  items  have  risen  correspondingly,  whilst  the  cost 
of  British  bunker  coal  has  risen  from  600  per  cent  to  700  per 
cent,  and  at  the  time  of  writing  insufficient  quantities  are 
available  even  at  this  enormously  increased  price.1 

1  The  figures  quoted  in  this  connexion  have  been  extracted  from  the 
Annual  Report  (1919-20)  of  the  Chamber  of  Shipping  of  the  United 
Kingdom. 


TRANSIT 


233 


TABLE   SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  AND  NET  TONNAGE  (GROSS 

ALSO,  IF  AVAILABLE)  OF  SAILING  AND  STEAM  VESSELS 

REGISTERED  UNDER  PART  I.  OF  THE  MERCHANT  SHIP- 

PING  ACT,   1894,  WHICH  BELONGED   TO   IRELAND   ON 

3  1ST   DECEMBER   OF  THE  YEARS  STATED. 

SAILING   VESSELS. 

STEAM   VESSELS. 

Year 

Number 

nf 

Tonnage. 

Number 

Tonnage. 

Vessels. 

Gross. 

Net. 

ol 

Vessels. 

Gross. 

Net. 

I850 

2.2491 

_ 

261,432 

1860 

2,103 

— 

211,585 

168 

— 

41,751 

1870 

1,651 

— 

170,800 

193 

— 

46,581 

1880 

1,403 

— 

172,439 

255 

— 

60,198 

1890 

9°3 

135,406 

127,113 

267 

210,165 

H3,I78 

1900 

602 

74,188 

67,893 

357 

368,603 

194,475 

1910 

487 

40,655 

36,696 

423 

596,525 

323,157 

I9i62 

390 

32,930 

29,812 

509 

686,736 

395,2oi 

These  factors,  plus  the  continued  control  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  certain  shipping  facilities  (direction,  coupled  with 
limitation  rates,  in  respect  to  wheat  from  Canada,  Australia, 
U.S.A.,  and  the  Plate  ;  maize  from  the  Plate,  sugar  from  Cuba, 
British  West  Indies,  and  Mauritius,  timber  from  Canada, 
and  coastwise  coal  in  the  United  Kingdom),  the  abnormal 
demand  upon  shipping  resulting  from  the  depleted  stocks  of 
necessary  articles,  raw  materials,  etc.,  throughout  the  world, 
and  the  vast  number  of  passengers  (troops  and  civilians) 
that  have  had  to  be  conveyed  to  or  from  Europe,  have  given 
a  strong  impetus  to  the  amalgamation  of  British  steamship 
undertakings.  Many  of  the  largest  and  best  known  British 
steamship  companies  have  been  absorbed  by,  or  have 
absorbed,  other  undertakings. 

1  Includes  sailing  and  steam. 

8  It  was  subsequent  to  the  year  1916  that  most  of  the  destruction 
of  Irish  vessels  by  submarine  and  mines  took  place. 


234  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

Those  in  Ireland  who  foresaw  the  evil  effects  that  must 
result  from  any  further  depletion  of  Irish-owned  shipping 
had  hoped  that  the  property  of  the  comparatively  few  inde- 
pendent Irish  steamship  companies  would  escape  the  atten- 
tion of  these  wealthy  combines ;  but,  ere  long,  the  Irish  com- 
panies, one  after  another,  received  offers  for  the  acquisition 
of  their  share  capital,  offers  which  proved  irresistible  in  most 
cases,  and,  consequently,  almost  every  Irish  steamship  com- 
pany parted  with  its  vessels  and  other  property  during  the 
past  two  years.  Most  of  these  undertakings  have  been 
acquired  by  the  British  and  Irish  Steam  Packet  Company 
Limited,1  which  company  had  a  paid-up  capital  of  £1,000,000, 
in  ordinary  shares  of  £i  each,  and  in  March,  1920,  offered  to 
the  public  a  further  issue  of  1,500,000  Participating  Preference 
Shares  of  £i  each.  At  that  date  the  Company  had  acquired 
the  fleet  and  property — exclusive  of  the  Kingstown- 
Holyhead  Mail  Boats  and  service — of  the  City  of  Dublin 
Steam  Packet  Company,  and  certain  steamers  and  property 
previously  owned  by  Messrs.  Tedcastle,  McCormick  &  Co., 
Ltd.,  of  Dublin.  They  had  also  acquired  the  major  part 
of  the  share  capital  of  the  following  companies  :  The  City 
of  Cork  Steam  Packet  Company  Limited,  The  Belfast  Steam 
Ship  Company  Limited,  and  the  Belfast  and  Manchester 
Steam  Ship  Company  Limited. 

In  the  year  1913  the  City  of  Dublin  Company  owned  a 
fleet  of  8  steamers,  of  a  gross  tonnage  of  8,682  tons — exclusive 
of  the  4  mail  boats2  plying  between  Kingstown  and  Holyhead, 
the  gross  tonnage  of  which  was  10,764  tons — the  Tedcastle 
Line  owned  6  vessels,  of  a  gross  tonnage  of  4,451  tons,  the 
City  of  Cork  Company  owned  9  vessels,  of  a  gross  tonnage 
of  10,398  tons,  the  Belfast  Steam  Ship  Company  owned  7 
vessels,  of  a  gross  tonnage  of  10,859  tons,  whilst  the  British 
and  Irish  Steam  Packet  Company  themselves  owned  a  fleet 
of  6  vessels,  of  a  gross  tonnage  of  8,368  tons. 

The  one  satisfactory  feature  in  this  connexion  is  that 
three  of  the  five  present  directors  of  the  British  and  Irish 

1  It  is  understood  that  this  Company  is  associated  with  some  of  the 
most  powerful  shipping  interests  in  England  and  is  largely  controlled 
by  a  number  of  the  principal  British  steamship  companies  connected 
with  ocean  services. 

2  Two  of  these  boats  were  destroyed  during  the  period  of  the  war 
and  have  not,  at  the  time  of  writing,  been  replaced. 


TRANSIT  235 

Company  are  Irishmen  of  high  standing,  viz.  :    Lord  Pirrie 
Mr.  George  N.  Jacob,  and  Captain  A.  R.  S.  Nutting. 

In  addition  to  the  companies  mentioned,  other  Irish  shipping 
undertakings  have  passed  out  of  Irish  hands,  the  principal 
ones  being  the  Ulster  Steam  Ship  Company  Limited,  with 
a  fleet  of  13  steamers,  the  gross  tonnage  of  which  was 
84,450  tons,  and  the  Cork  Steam  Ship  Company  Limited, 
with  a  fleet  of  12  vessels,  the  gross  tonnage  of  which  was  31,404 
tons 

In  pre-war  years  Ireland's  share  of  the  world's  shipping 
trade  was  infinitesimal  in  comparison  to  her  potential 
resources ;  to-day,  when  every  country  throughout  the  world 
is  striving  to  increase  its  trade  and  industry,  Ireland  finds 
herself  less  equipped  in  respect  to  the  ownership  of  shipping 
facilities  than  in  former  years.  It  would  be  difficult  to  over- 
estimate the  significance  of  this  retrogressive  step.  Whilst 
Ireland  is  unpossessed  of  a  mercantile  marine,  Irish  manufac- 
turers and  traders  must  pay  additional  freights  and  other 
charges  on  every  article  they  import  from  or  export  to  foreign 
countries;  they  must  continue  to  be  handicapped  by  the 
additional  time  occupied  in  the  transit  of  these  goods,  through 
having  to  procure  or  despatch  them  via  British  ports  ;  Ireland 
loses  the  direct  profits  which  a  mercantile  marine  would  earn 
for  her ;  and,  further,  her  trade  and  industry  is  affected  in 
numerous  other  ways  through  the  absence  of  this  all- 
important  adjunct  to  trade  development. 

Being  faced,  at  the  moment,  with  the  competition  of  power- 
ful British  shipping  combines,  and  all  that  this  portends,  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  Irish  capitalists  could  be  persuaded 
to  invest  the  large  sums  of  money  necessary  to  immediately 
establish  a  really  effective  Irish  mercantile  marine.  Neverthe- 
less there  is  no  reason  why  a  small  beginning  should  not  be  made 
at  once  to  increase  the  Irish  shipping  trade.  If  attention  be 
given  to  the  matter  it  will  be  found  that  small  vessels,  of  the 
tramp  class,  are  from  time  to  time  obtainable  at  reasonable 
prices  ;  such  vessels  need  never  lie  idle  ;  freights,  at  profitable 
rates,  are  continually  offering,  and  if  a  few  keen  Irish  business- 
men were  to  interest  themselves  in  this  matter,  and  invest 
their  money  in  vessels  of  this  type,  they  would  find  that  the 
expense  of  working  them  would  not  prove  excessive  ;  that  with 
efficient  management  good  profits  would  be  obtainable ; 
and  it  should  not  be  long  before  they  would  be  in  a  position 


236  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

to  add  to  the  number  of  their  fleet  or  purchase  still  larger 
vessels.  There  is  nothing  original  about  this  suggestion. 
Numerous  one-man,  or  small-group,  undertakings  of  the  kind 
have  been  in  existence  for  ages  past,  even  here  in  Ireland. 
Were  the  system  considerably  extended  in  this  country,  it 
would  materially  assist  Irish  trade  and  industry  and  in  every 
way  prove  a  valuable  Irish  asset. 

During  the  past  year  a  direct  service  of  steamers  has  been 
operating  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  Ireland  ; 
occasional  vessels  from  Spain  bring  cargoes  of  fruit  direct  to 
Irish  ports,  instead  of,  as  heretofore,  discharging  them  at 
British  ports  from  whence  they  were  transhipped  to  Ireland  ; 
the  service  between  Antwerp  and  Dublin,  which  was  suspended 
during  the  war,  has  re-commenced,  and  there  is  promise,  in 
the  near  future,  of  further  extensions  of  direct  shipping 
between  Ireland  and  other  countries  abroad. 

Until  Irish  traders  and  manufacturers  have  an  unlimited 
choice  of  the  world's  markets  in  which  to  buy  and  sell,  and 
until  they  can  get  their  goods  to  and  from  these  markets  in 
the  shortest  possible  space  of  time,  at  the  lowest  possible 
cost  of  transport,  they  must  continue  to  suffer  from  the  various 
handicaps  that  retarded  the  expansion  of  Irish  trade  and 
industry  in  the  past.  With  the  more  extensive  and  fiercer 
competition  which  is  certain  to  be  met  with  in  ensuing  years, 
these  handicaps  will  prove  increasingly  severe  as  time  goes 
on.  Therefore,  to  prevent  Irish  industry  from  languishing, 
and  to  enable  it  to  progress,  it  is  essential  that  every  effort 
should  be  made  to  organize  and  encourage  direct  shipping 
between  Ireland  and  foreign  countries. 


4.      MINISTRY   OF  TRANSPORT 

Few  Acts  of  Parliament,  passed  in  times  of  peace,  have 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  single  Government  department  such 
widespread  powers  as  those  which  the  Ministry  of  Transport 
Act,  1919,  conferred  upon  the  department  set  up  to  administer 
that  Act.  The  Bill  introduced,  proposed  giving  to  the 
Minister  of  Transport  what  practically  amounted  to  plenary 
powers  over  everything  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  in  any 
way  connected  with  transit  services.  In  its  passage  through 


TRANSIT  237 

Parliament  it  met  with  an  amount  of  fierce  criticism  and 
opposition,  both  inside  and  outside  the  House  of  Commons, 
with  the  result  that  the  Government  were  compelled  to 
amend  many  of  its  clauses,  and,  finally,  it  reached  the  Statute 
Book  shorn  of  some,  but  by  no  means  all,  of  its  most  objec- 
tionable features. 

The  Bill  was  passed  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  means 
of,  and  the  facilities  for,  locomotion  and  transport,  and  it  trans- 
ferred to  the  Minister  of  Transport  all  powers  and  duties  of 
any  Government  Department x  in  relation  to 

(a)  Railways.  (6)  Light  Railways. 

(c)  Tramways.  (d)  Canals,  waterways,  and 

(e)  Roads,  bridges  and  inland  navigations. 

ferries ;    vehicles    and  C/)  Harbours,     docks,     and 

traffic  thereon.  piers. 

The  Act  continued  Government  control,  for  two  years  from 
its  enactment,  of  all  railroad  undertakings  of  which  possession 
had  already  been  taken,  and  empowered  the  Minister,  after 
giving  not  less  than  one  month's  notice  in  writing,  to  take 
possession  of  the  whole  or  any  part  of  any  other  statutory 
railway  undertaking,  light  railway,  tramway,  canal  or  inland 
navigation,  harbour,  dock  or  pier,  plant  belonging  to  any  such 
undertakings,  and  barges,  tugs,  and  other  craft  owned  or  held 
by  them. 

The  directors  and  other  persons  concerned  with  the 
management,  and  officers  and  servants  of  these  under- 
takings, must  obey  the  directions  of  the  Minister  as  to  rates, 
fares,  tolls,  dues,  and  charges  to  be  charged ;  as  to  salaries, 
wages,  and  remuneration  and  conditions  of  employment ;  as 
to  the  working  or  discontinuance  of  the  working  of  the  under- 
takings ;  for  securing  that  the  permanent  way,  rolling  stock, 
plant,  appliances,  or  equipment  are  satisfactory  in  type  and 
design  ;  as  to  the  carrying  out  of  alterations,  improvements, 
and  additions  which  the  Minister  considers  necessary ;  for 
securing  co-operation  between  undertakings,  and  for  secur- 
ing the  common  user  of  facilities,  rolling  stock,  and  equipment ; 

1  The  powers  or  duties  of  the  Admiralty  exerciseable  in  or  in  relation 
to  ports  declared  under  the  Dockyard  Port  Regulation  Act,  1865, 
to  be  dockyard  ports ;  and  the  powers  of  the  Board  of  Trade  with 
respect  to  the  appointment  of  members  or  the  procedure  of  the  Railway 
and  Canal  Commission  are  reserved  to  those  departments. 


238   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

for  affording  running  powers  over  their  systems  to  the  owners 
of  any  other  undertaking ;  for  securing  that  manufacturing 
and  repairing  facilities  and  auxiliary  and  ancillary  services 
shall  be  used,  and  the  purchase  and  distribution  of  stores 
shall  be  conducted,  in  such  manner  as  may  be  most  conducive 
to  economy  and  efficiency. 

SECTION  3  :  (e),  is  a  provision  worthy  of  quoting  in 
extenso.  It  reads  as  follows  : — 

In  the  case  of  any  undertaking  of  which  possession  is  retained 
or  taken  by  the  Minister  as  aforesaid,  any  rates,  fares,  tolls,  dues, 
and  other  charges  directed  by  the  Minister  shall  be  deemed  to 
be  reasonable,  and  may,  notwithstanding  any  agreement  or 
statutory  provisions  limiting  the  amount  of  such  charges  or 
increases  therein,  be  charged  in  respect  of  any  undertaking  during 
the  period  for  which  the  Minister  retains  possession  of  such 
undertaking,  and  for  a  further  period  of  eighteen  months  after 
the  expiration  of  the  said  period,  or  until  fresh  provision  shall  be 
made  by  Parliament  with  regard  to  the  amount  of  any  such  rates, 
fares,  tolls,  dues,  and  other  charges,  whichever  shall  first  happen. 

A  saving  clause  of  the  Act,  which  was  the  outcome  of  the 
opposition  already  referred  to,  is  also  deserving  of  special 
mention.  It  reads  as  follows  : — 

4.  Except  where  any  harbour,  dock  or  pier  forms  part  of  a 
railway  undertaking,  nothing  in  section  three  of  this  Act  shall 
apply  to  any  harbour,  dock,  or  pier  undertaking  established 
by  Act  of  Parliament,  including  the  Manchester  Ship  Canal,  or 
to  the  owners  of  any  such  undertaking,  without  the  consent  of 
such  owners,  but,  if  at  any  time  during  the  two  years  after  the 
passing  of  this  Act,  the  Minister  shall  consider  that  it  is  desirable 
in  the  national  interest  that  the  transport  facilities  and  accom- 
modation at  the  harbour  or  at  any  dock  or  pier  of  the  owners, 
should  be  improved  or  extended,  or  that  the  method  of  working 
should  be  altered,  the  Minister  may,  by  order,  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid,  require  the  owners  to  execute  or  do,  within  a  reasonable 
tune,  such  improvement  or  extension  or  alteration  in  the  method 
of  working  as  the  order  may  prescribe,  and  may,  for  that  purpose, 
by  order,  confer  on  the  owners  any  such  powers  of  acquiring  land 
or  easements  or  constructing  works  as  are  mentioned  in  para- 
graph (d)  of  subsection  (i)  of  that  section  ;  and  the  provisions 
of  this  Act  relating  to  orders  made  under  that  paragraph  shall 
apply  to  orders  conferring  such  powers  as  aforesaid. 

Provided  that,  if  the  owners  of  such  undertaking  consider  that 
any  such  requirements  are  likely  to  be  seriously  injurious  to  the 


TRANSIT  239 

undertaking,  or  to  the  trade  of  the  port,  they  may,  within  thirty 
days  of  receiving  notice  of  such  requirements  from  the  Minister, 
appeal,  in  the  case  of  an  undertaking  situate  in  England  or 
Wales,  to  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  or  in  the  case  of  an 
undertaking  situate  in  Scotland,  to  the  Lord  President  of  the 
Court  of  Session,  or,  in  the  case  of  an  undertaking  situate  in 
Ireland,  to  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  Ireland,  and,  if  it  appears 
to  such  Lord  Chief  Justice  or  Lord  President  that  a  prinfi,  facie 
case  is  made  out  that  the  requirements  of  the  Minister  would  be 
so  injurious  as  aforesaid,  he  shall  forthwith  appoint  an  arbitrator 
to  hold  an  immediate  inquiry,  and,  if  the  arbitrator  reports  that 
the  carrying  out  of  the  requirements  of  the  Minister  will  be  so 
injurious  as  aforesaid,  the  Minister  shall  revoke  his  requirements, 
without  prejudice  to  the  power  of  the  Minister  to  issue  a  new 
order. 

Section  9  provides  that  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  minister  to 
establish  and  work  transport  services  by  land  or  water. 

Three  other  sections  of  the  Act  (which  mainly  resulted  from 
outside  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Government  whilst 
the  Bill  was  under  consideration)  are  of  sufficient  importance 
to  justify  full  quotation.  They  are  worded  as  follows  : — 

21.  (i)  For  the  purpose  of  giving  advice  and  assistance  to 
the  Minister  with  respect  to  and  for  safeguarding  any  interests 
affected  by  any  directions  as  to  rates,  fares,  tolls,  dues,  and  other 
charges  or  special  services,  a  committee  shall  be  appointed 
consisting  of  five  persons,  one  being  a  person  of  experience  in 
the  law  (who  shall  be  chairman)  nominated  by  the  Lord  Chancellor, 
two  being  representatives  of  the  trading  and  agricultural  interests 
nominated  by  the  Board  of  Trade,  after  consultation  with  the 
Associated  Chambers  of  Commerce,  the  Central  Chamber  of 
Agriculture,  and  other  interests  concerned,  one  being  a  repre- 
sentative of  transportation  interests  nominated  by  the  Minister, 
one  being  a  representative  of  labour  interests  nominated  by  the 
Minister  of  Labour,  after  consultation  with  the  Parliamentary 
Committee  of  the  Trades  Union  Congress  and  other  interests 
concerned,  together  with,  if  deemed  advisable,  one  additional 
member  who  may  at  the  discretion  of  the  Minister  be  nominated 
from  time  to  time  by  him. 

(2)  Before  directing  any  revision  of  any  rates,  fares,  tolls, 
dues,  or  other  charges,  or  of  any  special  services,  the  Minister 
shall  refer  the  matter  to  the  Committee  for  their  advice,  and  they 
shall  report  thereon  to  him,  and,  where  such  revision  is  for  the 
purpose  of  an  increase  in  the  net  revenue  of  any  undertakings 
which  the  Minister  determines  to  be  necessary,  the  committee 


240  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

shall  also  advise  as  to  the  best  methods  of  obtaining  such  increase 
from  the  different  classes  of  traffic,  having  due  regard  to  existing 
contracts  and  the  fairness  and  adequacy  of  the  methods  proposed 
to  be  adopted.  Before  prescribing  the  limits  of  rates,  tolls,  or 
charges  in  connexion  with  a  new  transport  service  established 
under  section  nine  of  this  Act,  the  Minister  shall  refer  the  matter 
to  the  Committee  for  their  advice. 

(3)  The   Committee,    before   reporting   or   advising   on   any 
matters  referred  to  them  under  this  section,  shall,  unless  in  their 
discretion  they  consider  it  unnecessary  or  undesirable  to  do  so, 
give  such  public  notice  as  they  think  best  adapted  for  informing 
persons  affected  of  the  date  when  and  the  place  where  they  will 
inquire  into  the  matter,  and  any  persons  affected  may  make 
representations  to  the  Committee,  and,  unless  in  their  discretion 
the  committee  consider  it  unnecessary,  shall  be  heard  at  such 
inquiry,  and,  if  the  committee  in  their  discretion  think  fit,  the 
whole  or  any  part  of  the  proceedings  at  such  inquiry  may  be 
open  to  the  public  ; 

Provided  that,  for  the  purpose  of  this  provision,  the  council 
of  any  city,  borough,  burgh,  county,  or  district  shall  be  deemed 
to  be  persons  affected  in  any  case  where  such  council  or  any 
persons  represented  by  them  may  be  affected  by  any  such 
proposed  revision  as  aforesaid. 

(4)  The  Committee  shall  hear  such  witnesses  and  call  for  such 
documents  and  accounts  as  they  think  fit,  and  shall  have  power 
to  take  evidence  on  oath,  and  for  that  purpose  any  member  of 
the  committee  may  administer  oaths. 

(5)  There  shall  be  paid  out  of  moneys  provided  by  Parliament 
to  all  or  any  of  the  members  of  the  committee  such  salaries  or 
other  remuneration  as  the  Minister,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Treasury,  may  determine. 

(6)  For  the  purposes  of  this  section,  "  special  services  "  means 
the  services  mentioned  in  section  five  of  the  schedule  to  the 
orders  relating  to  railway  rates  and  charges,  and  in  the  corres- 
ponding sections  of  the  schedules  to  the  orders  relating  to  canal 
tolls,  rates,  and  charges,  confirmed  by  various  Acts  passed  in  the 
years  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-one,  to  eighteen  hundred  and 
ninety-four. 

22.  (i)  For  the  purpose  of  giving  advice  and  assistance  to 
the  Minister  with  respect  to  and  for  safeguarding  any  interests 
affected  by  the  exercise  of  the  powers  and  the  performance  of 
his  duties  under  this  Act  in  relation  to  roads,  bridges  and  vehicles 
and  traffic  thereon,  a  committee  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  the 
Roads  Committee)  shall  be  appointed. 

(2)  The  Roads  Committee  shall  consist  of  not  less  than  eleven 
members,  of  whom  five  shall  be  representative  of  highway 
authorities,  appointed  after  consultation  with  such  authorities, 


TRANSIT  241 

and  five  shall  be  representative  of  the  users  of  horse  and 
mechanical  road  traffic,  appointed  after  consultation  with  the 
interests  concerned,  and  one  shall  be  a  representative  of  labour, 
appointed  after  consultation  with  the  interests  concerned. 

(3)  The  chairman  shall  be  elected  by  the  members  of  the 
Committee  from  among  their  own  number,  and  the  secretary 
of  the  Roads  Committee  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Minister. 

(4)  The  Roads  Committee  may  make  regulations  as  to  their 
procedure  and  method  of  voting,  and  may  at  their  discretion 
consider  and  report  to  the  Minister  upon  any  matters  affecting 
the  construction,   improvement,   or  maintenance   of  roads   or 
bridges,  or  the  regulation  of  traffic  thereon. 

23.  (i)  For  the  purpose  of  giving  advice  and  assistance  to 
the  Minister  in  connexion  with  the  exercise  and  performance  of 
his  powers  and  duties,  the  Minister  shall  set  up  a  panel  of  experts, 
and  of  impartial  persons  of  wide  commercial  and  trading  exper- 
ience, appointed  from  nominees,  after  consultation  with  the 
various  undertakings  and  interests  concerned,  of  the  various 
classes  of  undertakings  affected  by  this  Act,  and  of  labour, 
trading  interests,  local  authorities,  and  such  other  interests  as 
he  may  deem  desirable. 

(2)  Before  exercising  any  of  the  powers  under  subsection  (i) 
(b)  of  section  three  of  this  Act,  to  the  exercise  of  which  the 
owners   of  the  undertaking  concerned  object,   or  establishing 
new  transport  services  by  land  or  water,  the  Minister  shall  refer 
the  matter  to  a  committee  selected  by  him  from  the  said  panel. 

(3)  The  advisory  panel  or  any  committee  to  whom  any  matter 
is  referred  under  this  section  shall,  before  reporting  or  advising 
if  they  see  fit,  give  public  notice  and  permit  any  person  affected 
or  likely  to  be  affected  to  place  his  views  before  them  either 
orally  or  in  writing. 

(4)  Any  member  of  the  advisory,  panel,  or  any  committee 
thereof,  or  of  any  other  committee  established  under  this  Act, 
for  giving  advice  and  assistance  to  the  Minister,  shall  be  con- 
sidered to  be  acting  entirely  in  a  confidential  capacity. 

I  have  quoted  fairly  extensively  from  this  Act  on  account 
of  the  vital  importance  attaching  to  the  powers  and  duties 
which  it  confers  upon  the  Minister  responsible  for  its  adminis- 
tration. The  reader  will  realize,  if  he  has  not  previously 
studied  this  subject,  that  the  Ministry  of  Transport  possesses 
powers  to  improve  and  extend  existing  transit  facilities  and 
create  additional  resources  of  the  kind.  If  efficiently  and 
impartially  administered  this  new  department  should  prove 
a  valuable  asset  in  the  industrial  development  of  Ireland. 

16 


242  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

But  a  fairly  long  practical  experience  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment's consistent  neglect,  and,  in  some  cases,  deliberate 
restraint,  of  the  development  of  Ireland's  industrial  resources, 
has  made  me  chary  of  building  castles  which  depend  for  their 
support  upon  the  goodwill  of  British  Government  depart- 
ments. Just  as  this  department  is  in  a  position  to  do  untold 
good  for  Ireland,  it  is  also  in  a  position  to  do  untold  harm. 
Should  the  Government  at  any  time,  for  reasons  of  their 
own,  or  through  pressure  behind  the  scenes  from  powerful 
cross-channel  trading  or  industrial  interests,  desire  to  check 
or  retard  Irish  trade  or  industrial  progress,  the  Ministry  of 
Transport  provides  them  with  a  most  effective  weapon  for 
accomplishing  their  purpose. 

The  Minister  has  set  up  a  branch  of  the  Ministry  in  Ireland  ; 
he  has  appointed  a  highly  qualified  gentleman  as  director  of 
this  branch,  and  that  gentleman  has  appointed  a  highly 
efficient  staff  of  officers  to  assist  him  in  his  duties.  It  now 
remains  to  be  seen  whether  or  not  the  Irish  branch  of  the 
Ministry  will  be  given  a  free  hand  to  improve  and  extend 
existing  and  develop  potential  transit  resources  in  Ireland, 
or  whether,  as  heretofore,  more  powerful  interests  in  Great 
Britain  are  to  continue  to  act  as  a  break  upon  the  develop- 
ment of  Irish  trade  and  industry. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
BANKING 

THE   reader  in  search  of  a  complete  history  of   Irish 
banking  has  only  to  refer  to  some  of   the   many 
available  volumes  and  Government   reports   which 
deal  specifically  with  the  subject,  to  procure  all  the  data  he 
requires.     The  present  writer  is  compelled  by  limitation  of 
space  to  give  no  more  than  an  outline  sketch  of  the  subject. 

The  public  banking  systems  operating  in  Ireland  at  the 
present  day  may  be  divided  as  follows  : — 

(a)  JOINT   STOCK   BANKS. 

(b)  POST   OFFICE   SAVINGS   BANKS. 

(c)  TRUSTEE  SAVINGS   BANKS. 

(d)  THE    LOAN    FUND    BOARD. 

(e)  CO-OPERATIVE    CREDIT   SOCIETIES. 
(/)   THE    NATIONAL   LAND    BANK. 


I.      JOINT   STOCK    BANKS 

The  first  Joint  Stock  Bank  established  in  Ireland  was  the 
Bank  of  Ireland,  which  received  its  Charter  on  May  15, 
1783.  Following  this,  came  the  Northern  Banking  Company, 
in  1824 ;  the  Hibernian  and  Provincial  Banks,  in  1825 ; 
the  Belfast  Banking  Company,  in  1827  ;  the  National  Bank 
(founded  by  Daniel  O'Connell),  in  1835  ;  the  Ulster  Bank 
and  the  Royal  Bank  of  Ireland,  in  1836  ;  and  the  Munster 
Bank,  in  1862.  This  latter  bank  suspended  payment  in 
1885,  and  was  replaced  by  the  Munster  and  Leinster  Bank. 

The  multiplication  of  branches  of  these  banks  in  the  past 
seventy  years  has  been  considerable,  as  will  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  the  following  table : — 

243 


244   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


No  of  Head 

No.  of  Sub- 

Total. 

Year. 

Offices  and 

Branches  and 

No. 

Branches  Open. 

Agencies  Open. 

Open. 

1850 

165 

165 

i860 

180 

— 

180 

1870 

285 

19 

304 

1880 

415 

64 

479 

1890 

421 

148 

569 

IQOO 

456 

205 

661 

IQIO 

505 

304 

809 

1920 

671 

584 

1,255 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  head  offices, 
branches,  sub-branches,  and  agencies  possessed  by  each  of 
the  Irish  Joint  Stock  Banks  at  the  end  of  the  year  1919  : — 


No  of  Head 

No.  of 

Bank. 

Offices  and 

Sub-Branches 

Total. 

Branches 

and  Agencies. 

Ulster  Bank1 

I094 

I295 

238 

Northern  Banking 

Company 

8l6 

Il87 

199 

National  Bank2 

114 

82 

196 

Munster       and 

Leinster  Bank 

83 

57 

140 

Provincial  Bank 

73 

54 

127 

Bank  of  Ireland 

76 

47 

123 

Belfast  Banking  Co.3 

67 

48 

"5 

Hibernian  Bank 

55 

46 

101 

Royal  Bank  of 

Ireland 

13 

3 

16 

TOTALS 

671 

584 

1,255 

For  Footnotes  see  bottom  of  p.  245. 


BANKING 


245 


These  tables,  if  read  in  conjunction  with  that  which  follows, 
demonstrate  the  remarkable  expansion  that  has  taken  place 
in  the  operations  of  Irish  Joint  Stock  Banks  in  the  past  eighty 
years. 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  TOTAL  DEPOSITS  AND  CASH  BALANCES 
IN   IRISH   JOINT  STOCK    BANKS    AT    VARIOUS    PERIODS 
FROM  THE  YEAR  1840  TO  IQIQ. 

Year.  l 

Amount  of  Deposits  and  Cash 

Balances  on  December  31. 

I 

1840 

5,568,000 

1850 

8,269,000 

1860 

15,609,000 

1870 

24,366,000 

1880 

29,746,000 

1890 

33,325,000 

1900 

43,28o,OOO 

1910 

54,936,000 

1912 

57,651,000 

I9X3 

62,142,000 

1914 

66,168,000 

19*5 

66,803,000 

1916 

74,659,000 

1917 

91,361,000 

1918 

I2I,I9I,OOO 

19192 

136,134,000 

1  On  December  31  of  each  year. 
3  On  June  30,  1919. 


1  This  Bank  is  affiliated  to  the  London  County  Westminster  &  Parrs 
Bank,  Limited. 

2  These  numbers  are  exclusive  of  the  Head  Office  and  twenty-three 
branch  offices  which  are  situated  in  England  and  Wales. 

3  This  Bank  is  affiliated  to  the  London  Joint  City  and  Midland  Bank, 
Ltd. 

*  Of  these,  twenty-four  are  situated  in  Leinster,  fifteen  in  Connaught, 
and  four  in  Munster. 

8  Of  these,  thirty-five  are  situated  in  Leinster,  twenty-five  in  Con- 
naught,  and  two  in  Munster. 

6  Of  these,  nine  are  situated  in  Leinster  and  one  in  Connaught. 

7  Of  these,  one  is  situated  in  Leinster  and  one  in  Connaught. 


246  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  following  table  shows  that  from  June  30,  1914,  to 
December  31,  1919,  the  amount  of  Government  Stocks  on 
which  dividends  are  payable  at  the  Bank  of  Ireland 
increased  by  nearly  119  per  cent. 


GOVERNMENT  STOCK  ON  WHICH  DIVIDENDS 

ARE  PAYABLE  AT  THE  BANK  OF  IRELAND.1 

Date. 

Amount. 

£ 

1914  June  30 

42,191,000 

Dec.  31 

42,042,000 

1915  June  30 

44,274,000 

Dec.  31 

46,936,000 

1916  June  30 

52,278,000 

Dec.  31 

55.756,000 

1917  June  30 

67,663,000 

Dec.  31 

70,317,000 

1918  June  30 

78,109,000 

Dec.  31 

85,360,000 

1919  June  30 

90,293,000 

Dec.  31 

92,420,000 

The  two  foregoing  tables  should  be  read  in  conjunction 
with  the  last  column  of  the  following  table,  which  shows  that 
from  June  30,  1914,  to  December  31,  1919,  the  general  level 
of  wholesale  prices  increased  by  nearly  200  per  cent.  Accord- 
ingly, the  deposits  in  the  Irish  Banks  on  December  31,  1919, 
represented  less  purchasing  power  than  did  the  deposits  on 
June  30,  1914. 

"  In  measuring  by  an  index  number  the  general  level  of 
prices  in  the  United  Kingdom,  the  Board  of  Trade  select 
forty-five  commodities  (coal  and  metals,  wool  and  other  tex- 
tiles, raw  materials ;  grain,  meat  and  other  food  and  drink 
stuffs  ;  bricks,  hides,  and  other  miscellaneous  commodities), 
and  assign  to  each  its  due  importance.  Assuming  that  one 
hundred  represented  the  general  level  of  the  wholesale  prices 
of  these  forty-five  commodities  in  the  year  1900,  the  figures 

11  Monthly  Statistical  Statement  (February,  1920)  issued  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical  Instruction  for  Ireland. 


BANKING 


247 


in  the  second  column  of  the  following  table  represent,  accord- 
ing to  the  Board  of  Trade,  the  general  level  of  wholesale 
prices  at  the  date  mentioned.  The  third  column  shows  the 
percentage  increase  from  June  30,  1914.  Thus,  from  June  30, 
1914,  to  December  31,  1919,  the  general  level  of  wholesale 
prices  in  the  United  Kingdom  increased  by  199.2  per  cent." 


BOARD    OF   TRADE   INDEX    NUMBER   OF 

WHOLESALE    PRICES.1 

Date 

Index  Number 
(Index  Number 
for  year 

As  a  percentage 
of  June  30, 

1900=100). 

1914  June  30 

II5-5 

IOO.O 

Dec.  31 

125-7 

108.8 

1915  June  30 

150.7 

130.5 

Dec.  31 

159-4 

138.0 

1916  June  30 

191.6 

165.9 

Dec.  31 

224.0 

193-9 

1917  June  30 

256.3 

221.9 

Dec.  31 

266.7 

230.9 

1918  June  30 

283.9 

245.8 

Dec.  31 

298.6 

258.5 

1919  June  30 

277.7 

240.5 

Dec.  31 

345-6 

299.2 

Whilst  giving  interesting  information  concerning  the  posi- 
tion of  their  undertakings,  the  balance-sheets  of  Irish  Joint 
Stock  Banks  throw  no  light  upon  the  amounts  invested  by 
the  banks  in  Irish  trade  and  industry.  In  a  few  cases  the 
items  advances  on  securities  and  current  accounts  are  inserted 
separately,  but  in  most  cases  the  item  bills  discounted  is  added 
to  these,  and  only  the  total  amount  of  the  three  items  added 
together  appears  in  the  balance  sheets.  As  a  considerable 
per  centage  of  the  item  bills  discounted  represents  investments 
made  by  Irish  banks  in  foreign  bills  on  London,  Irish  trade  or 
industry  does  not  benefit  thereby.  Consequently,  there  are 
no  data  to  guide  us  in  making  a  reliable  estimate  of  the  amount 

1  Ibid. 


248   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

of  their  assets  invested  by  Irish  banks  in  Irish  trade  and 
industry.  It  is  obvious  from  the  figures  disclosed  in  their 
balance-sheets  that  most  of  these  banks  invest  a  larger 
proportion  of  their  funds  in  Government  and  other  external 
securities  than  in  those  of  Irish  origin.  An  explanation  which 
partly  accounts  for  this  procedure  is  that  these  banks  are 
obliged  to  keep  the  bulk  of  their  funds  in  liquid  form  ;  either 
in  the  form  of  cash-in-hand,  or  at  call,  or  in  securities  of  a 
rapidly  negotiable  kind.  The  banks  are  thereby  precluded 
from  sinking  too  large  a  proportion  in  Irish  trading  or 
industrial  ventures,  which  investments  would  necessitate  the 
locking-up  of  considerable  sums  for  indefinite  periods. 

A  perusal  of  the  following  table  will  inform  the  reader  as  to 
the  manner  in  which  the  assets  of  the  Irish  Joint  Stock  Banks 
are  apportioned.  (See  opposite  page.) 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  the  sums  on  deposit  in  Irish 
Joint  Stock  Banks  represent  money  actually  lodged  in  the 
banks,  or  net  savings.  Were  this  the  case  the  latest  deposit 
statistics  would  certainly  indicate  a  rapid  growth  of  economic 
prosperity  in  Ireland,  though  it  would  also  indicate  a  lack  of 
intelligence  upon  the  part  of  the  depositors,  that  they  should 
be  content  to  accept  the  comparatively  small  rate  of  interest 
which  banks  pay  on  money  lodged  on  deposit  with  them.  No 
doubt  a  fair  amount  of  money  is  actually  deposited  with  the 
Irish  banks  in  this  manner,  but  were  the  figures  obtainable, 
which  they  are  not,  it  would  probably  be  found  that  the  total 
sum  so  deposited  in  Ireland  falls  far  below  what  it  is  believed 
to  be,  and  that  this  commonly  accepted  belief,  as  to  the  extent 
of  the  growing  economic  prosperity  of  Ireland,  is  partly 
fallacious. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture,  some  years  ago,  pointed 
out  that  such  a  growth  and  its  extent  could  only  be  determined  by 
a  complete  account  of  savings  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  indebted- 
ness on  the  other.  Professor  Smiddy,  a  recognized  authority 
upon  the  subject  of  Banking,  has  stated  that : 

When  one  sees  the  deposits  inlrish  banks  exceeding  ^100,000,000 
sterling  one  must  not  conclude  that  they  represent  money 
actually  lodged  in  the  banks  ;  the  larger  proportion  thereof 
represents  money  or  credit  manufactured  by  the  banks.  Every 
loan  given  by  a  bank  means  the  creation  of  a  deposit  of  equivalent 
value  ;  by  a  fiction  it  is  called  a  deposit.  When  it  is  drawn  or 
transferred  to  another  by  cheque  it  may  become  a  deposit  in 


BANKING 


249 


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250   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

another  bank  ;   and  the  currency  is  increased  to  that  amount 
until  the  debt  is  finally  paid. 

Instances  have  occurred,  though  perhaps  not  frequently, 
of  small  Irish  farmers  who,  for  reasons  of  their  own,  desiring 
to  pose  as  men  of  good  financial  standing,  have  given  banks  a 
lien  on  their  farms  in  consideration  of  the  banks  advancing 
them  sums  of  money  ;  these  sums  they,  in  turn,  have  placed 
on  deposit  with  the  banks,  and  then,  being  possessors  of  deposit 
receipts  for  the  amounts  of  these  loans,  they  have  displayed 
the  receipts  as  evidence  of  their  financial  standing. 

Whilst  this  may  not  be  a  common  practice  it  serves  to 
illustrate  the  fact  that  the  amounts  on  deposit  in  Irish  Joint 
Stock  Banks  do  not  necessarily  represent  Irish  net  savings, 
and  that  deductions  must  be  made  from  the  totals  appearing 
under  this  head  before  the  net  figure  can  be  determined. 

The  reader  will  have  noted  the  fact  that  the  two  North  of 
Ireland  Joint  Stock  Banks  have  amalgamated  with  important 
English  banks.  These  fusions  possess  possible  advantages 
for  Irish  trade  and  industry,  provided  the  English  partners — 
the  predominant  power — in  the  undertakings  give  a  free  hand 
to  the  Irish  branches  to  continue  and  extend  their  operations 
in  Ireland.  Provided  there  is  no  interference  with  the  Irish 
branches,  Irish  trade  and  industry  should  benefit  by  the 
additional  facilities  which  these  highly  capitalized  banks  can 
afford  them — both  as  regards  extensive  loans  of  money  and 
the  advantages  accruing  from  their  foreign  connexions. 
But  the  fact  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  if,  at  any  time, 
for  reasons  of  their  own,  the  British  Government,  or  powerful 
trading  interests  in  Great  Britain,  should  decree  that  a  check 
be  put  upon  the  expansion  of  Irish  trade  or  industry,  it  is 
possible  that  these  banks,  whose  chief  interests  are  rooted  in 
Great  Britain,  could  not  resist  such  pressure,  in  which  event 
their  association  with  Ireland  would  prove  disastrous  to 
Irish  trading  and  industrial  interests. 

2.      POST   OFFICE    SAVINGS    BANKS 

Post  Office  Savings  Banks  were  established  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  in  the  year  1861.  The  objects  for  which 
they  were  established  were  :  (i)  To  supply  a  safe  medium  to 
small  depositors  wherein  they  could  lodge  their  savings,  at  a 


BANKING 


251 


low  rate  of  interest ;  and  (2)  to  enable  the  Government  to 
utilize  the  sums  so  deposited  in  meeting  a  share  of  the  National 
expenditure — a  cheaper  method  of  doing  so  than  having 
recourse  to  the  usual  channels  which  necessitated  paying  a 
higher  rate  of  interest. 

The  sums  deposited  in  these  banks  in  Ireland,  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  table  inserted  below,  have  reached  a  very 
considerable  figure.  Whilst  this  fact  gives  evidence  of  the 
thrift  of  a  large  number  of  the  people,  it  also  possesses  an  aspect 
which  is  far  from  satisfactory.  All  monies  lodged  in  Ireland 
in  Post  Office  Savings  Banks  are  withdrawn  from  the  country  ; 
consequently  they  cease  to  be  of  productive  value  so  far  as 
Ireland  is  concerned.  One  has  only  to  examine  the  following 
table  to  realize  the  economic  waste  which  this  system  of 
banking  entails : — 


TABLE     SHOWING     THE     AMOUNT     DEPOSITED     AND     THE 

NUMBER    OF    SEPARATE    ACCOUNTS    OPEN    IN    THE    POST 

OFFICE      SAVINGS      BANKS      IN      IRELAND      AT      VARIOUS 

PERIODS    FROM    THE    YEAR    1862-1919 

Amount  of 

Number  of 

Year.1 

Deposits. 

Separate 

Accounts. 

I 

1862 

79,OOO 

— 

1870 

583,000 

— 

1880 

1,556,000 

82,131 

1890 

3,723,000 

198,79° 

1900 

8,059,000 

381,865 

1910 

11,931,000 

606,397 

1912 
1913 

12,824,000 
13,167,000 

641,800 
656,700 

1914 
1915 

12,748,000 
II,78l,000 

658,000 
663,000 

1916 

11,679,000 

671,500 

1917 

11,264,000 

681,500 

1918 

I2,IOO,OOO 

— 

1919* 

I3,OO6,OOO 

On  December  31  of  each  year.         •  On  June  30,  1919. 


252   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 


3.      TRUSTEE    SAVINGS    BANKS 

These  small  Savings  Banks  have  had  a  somewhat  chequered 
career.  Considerable  numbers  of  them  were  established  in 
Ireland  l  since  the  date  of  their  introduction  into  the  country, 
in  1816,  but,  of  the  total,  only  twelve  now  remain  in  existence. 
One  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  disappearance  of  the  others  was 
that  the  Trustees,  whose  services  must  be  given  free  of  recom- 
pense, failed  to  give  sufficient  attention  to  their  self-imposed 


TABLE     SHOWING     THE     AMOUNT     DEPOSITED     AND     THE 

NUMBER     OF     SEPARATE     ACCOUNTS     OPEN     IN     TRUSTEE 

SAVINGS     BANKS     IN      IRELAND     AT     VARIOUS      PERIODS 

FROM   THE   YEAR    1817-1919. 

TSTr«    nf 

Year.2 

Amount  of 
Deposits. 

•l/NtJ.    UL 

Separate 
Accounts. 

1 

1817 

1,846 

* 

1820 

IO3,OOO 

* 

1830 

1,135,000 

* 

1840 

2,177,000 

* 

1850 

1,292,000 

* 

1860 

2,143,000 

* 

1870 

2,055,000 

* 

1880 

2,079,000 

53.910 

1890 

1,973,000 

49.643 

1900 

2,309,000 

50,318 

1910 

2,515,000 

56,192 

1912 

2,606,000 

56,652 

19*3 

2,612,000 

56,867 

1914 

2,559,000 

55,356 

1915 

2,490,000 

55,671 

1916 

2,490,000 

55,894 

1917 

2,453,000 

56,292 

1918 

2,878,000 

* 

1919' 

3,166,000 

* 

1  Between  the  years  1862  and  1904  forty- three  of  these  Banks  had 
been  closed  in  Ireland,  i.e.,  those  at  Ballymena.Gracehill,  Lisburn.Cavan. 


BANKING 


253 


duties,  with  the  result  that  the  management  proved  defective, 
and  the  banks  were  forced  to  close. 

A  perusal  of  the  foregoing  table  shows  that  since  1890 
the  deposits  in  these  banks  have  not  reached  a  level  approach- 
ing those  which  the  Post  Office  Savings  Banks  in  Ireland  have 
been  able  to  attract.  This,  no  doubt,  is  due  to  the  small 
depositors  reposing  greater  confidence  in  the  security  which 
the  Post  Office  Savings  Banks  offer. 

The  location  of  the  twelve  Trustee  Savings  Banks  operating 
in  Ireland  to-day  and  the  years  in  which  they  were  established 
are  as  follows  : — 


ARMAGH 

1818 

ENNISKILLEN 

1825 

BELFAST 

1816 

LIMERICK 

1820 

COLERAINE 

1832 

LONDONDERRY 

1816 

CORK 

1817 

MONAGHAN 

1819 

DUBLIN 

1818 

ROSCREA 

1830 

DUNGANNON 

1819 

WATERFORD 

1816 

The  Official  Report  for  the  year  ended  November  20,  1917, 
the  latest  available,  showed  that  at  that  date  the  figures  for 
England  and  Wales,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  were  :— 


No.  of 

Banks. 

No.  of 
Depositors. 

Total  Amount 
Owing  to 
Depositors. 

£ 

England  and  Wales 
Scotland 

103 
62 

1,282,339 
688,509 

29,199,060 
19.984,654 

Ireland 

12 

56,292 

2,476,144 

Ennis,  Bandon,  Fermoy,  Youghal,  Cardonagh,  Castlewellan,  Hills- 
borough,  Newry,  Warrenpoint,  Castleknock,  Ballinasloe,  Celbndge, 
Kilkenny  Parsonstown  (Birr),  Tullamore,  Limavady,  Ardee,  Drog- 
heda  Dundalk,  Castlebar,  Kells,  Navan,  Abbeyleix,  Portarlmgton, 
Boyle,  Sligo,  Cashel,  Clonmel,  Thurles,  Omagh.  Strabane,  Clogher 
Cookstown,  Castlepollard,  Gorey,  Wexford,  Arklow,  Baltmglass,  and 
Bray  .  The  largest  number  of  Trustee  Savings  Banks  m  existence 
in  Ireland  at  one  time  was  in  the  years  1838  and  1839,  when  then 
were  eighty  operating. 

2  On  December  31  of  each  year. 

3  On  June  30,  1919. 

*  Figures  not  obtainable  for  these  years. 


254  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

What  has  been  stated  regarding  the  uneconomic  effect, 
so  far  as  Ireland  is  concerned,  of  depositing  savings  in  the 
Post  Office  Savings  Banks,  applies  with  almost  equal  force 
to  the  Trustee  Savings  Banks,  the  Trustees  being  required 
to  invest  the  bulk  of  the  sums  deposited  with  their  banks  in 
British  Government  securities. 


THE    LOAN    FUND    BANKS 

The  system  of  issuing  to  indigent  and  industrious  persons 
small  loans,  repayable  by  instalments,  was  introduced  into 
Ireland  by  Dean  Swift,  who  placed  the  sum  of  ^500  under  the 
supervising  control  of  certain  persons  for  the  making  of  loans  to 
the  poor  artisans  of  Dublin.  The  advantage  to  the  poorer  classes 
of  small  loans  of  money  to  purchase  implements  of  trade  early 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  Irish  Parliament ;  and  various 
associations  of  benevolent  individuals  organized  themselves  in 
order  to  form  by  voluntary  subscriptions  a  capital  fund  to  be 
lent  to  industrious  tradesmen  on  the  joint  security  of  one  or  more 
persons  for  repayment  of  the  loan  within  a  year,  without  interest. l 

An  Act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  in  the  year  1823,  authoriz- 
ing any  number  of  persons  desirous  of  forming  a  Charitable 
Loan  Society  to  do  so,  and  to  charge  interest  on  loans  issued 
by  them.  An  amending  Act  was  passed  in  1829,  and  a  further 
amending  Act  in  the  year  1836.  This  latter  Act  authorized 
the  Lord  Lieutenant  to  appoint  a  Central  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners, entitled  the  Loan  Fund  Board,  to  supervize  the  work- 
ing of  the  Societies.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  present  Irish 
Loan  Fund  Board.  By  Order  in  Council,  dated  December 
21,  1915,  the  administration  of  this  System  was  transferred 
to  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical  Instruction 
for  Ireland. 

At  no  time  in  their  history  did  these  Banks  make  an  exten- 
sive appeal  to  those  who  might  have  been  expected  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  facilities  they  offered  them  for  obtaining 
small  loans  at  a  reasonable  rate  of  interest. 

The  following  figures  illustrate  this  fact,  and  also  the  declin- 
ing condition  of  this  system  for  many  years  past : — 

1  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Agricultural  Credit 
in  Ireland,  paragraph  194,  p.  81.  (Cd.  7375). 


BANKING 


255 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  OF  SOCIETIES  REPORTING  ; 

TOTAL    AMOUNT    CIRCULATED,     AND    NUMBER    OF    LOANS 

ISSUED   SINCE   THE    CREATION    OF   THE    IRISH  LOAN  FUND 

BOARD. 

No.  of 

Total 

No.  of 

Year. 

Societies 

Amount 

Loans 

Reporting. 

Circulated. 

Issued. 

£ 

1838 

50 

180,526 

148,528 

1840 

215 

1,164,046 

463,750 

I850 

132 

662,794 

189,235 

1860 

no 

9*7,737 

198,355 

1870 

88 

565.422 

121,078 

1880 

78 

428,634 

89,590 

1890 

99 

498,651 

85,713 

1900 

65 

215,495 

41,992 

1910 

5i 

196,898 

39,650 

19*5 

5i 

168,987 

27,768 

1916 

50 

157,736 

25,681 

1917! 

48 

153,599 

24,051 

The  following  Table  shows  the  number  of  Loan  Fund 
Societies  operating  in  each  of  the  Provinces  in  the  year  1917, 
and  the  relative  extent  to  which  this  source  of  credit  is  made 
use  of  in  each  Province: — 


Total 

W/-»     r\t 

Province. 

No.  of 
Societies. 

Amount  of 
Capital 

Amount 
Circulated 

Loans 
Issued. 

in  1917. 

£ 

£ 

Ulster 

13 

31,148 

55,740 

7,443 

Leinster 

14 

17,941 

38,216 

6,725 

Munster 

15 

19,626 

32,058 

5,676 

Connaught 

6 

13,662 

27,585 

4,207 

TOTALS 

48 

£82,377 

£153,599' 

24,051 

1  Figures  for  later  years  are  not  yet  available. 


256  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  figures,  that  although  the  number 
of  Societies  in  Ulster  is  one  less  than  in  Leinster,  and  two  less 
than  in  Munster,  the  amount  of  money  advanced  by  the 
Ulster  Societies  in  the  year  1917  was  £17,524  greater  than 
that  advanced  by  the  Leinster  Societies,  and  £23,682  greater 
than  that  advanced  by  the  Munster  Societies  in  the  same  year. 


5.      CO-OPERATIVE    CREDIT   SOCIETIES 

This,  one  of  the  most  recent  banking  systems  introduced  into 
Ireland — the  first  society  started  operations  at  Doneraile, 
in  the  County  Cork,  in  February,  1895 — was  an  outcome  of  the 
Irish  Co-operative  Movement,  founded  in  the  year  1889, 
by  Sir  Horace  Plunkett  who  described  the  aim  and  modus 
operandi  of  these  credit  societies  as  follows  : — 

The  exact  purpose  of  these  organizations  is  to  create  credit 
as  a  means  of  introducing  capital  into  the  agricultural  industry. 
They  perform  the  apparent  miracle  of  giving  solvency  to  a 
community  composed  almost  entirely  of  insolvent  individuals.  .  .  . 
They  have  no  subscribed  capital,  but  every  member  is  liable  for 
the  entire  debts  of  the  association.  Consequently,  the  association 
takes  good  care  to  admit  men  of  approved  character  and  capacity 
only. 

It  starts  by  borrowing  a  sum  of  money  on  the  joint  and  several 
security  of  its  members.  A  member  wishing  to  borrow  from  the 
association  is  not  required  to  give  tangible  security,  but  must 
bring  two  sureties.  He  fills  up  an  application  form  which  states, 
among  other  things,  what  he  wants  the  money  for.  The  rules 
provide — and  this  is  tke  salient  feature  of  the  system — that  a 
loan  shall  be  made  for  a  productive  purpose  only,  that  is,  a 
purpose  which,  in  the  judgment  of  the  other  members  of  the 
association  as  represented  by  a  Committee  democratically 
elected  from  among  themselves,  will  enable  the  borrower  to 
repay  the  loan  out  of  the  results  of  the  use  made  of  the  money 
lent. 

Raiffeisen  held,  and  our  experience  in  Ireland  has  fully 
confirmed  his  opinion,  that  in  the  poorest  communities  there  is 
a  perfectly  safe  basis  of  security  in  the  honesty  and  industry 
of  its  members.  This  security  is  not  valuable  to  the  ordinary 
commercial  lender,  such  as  the  local  Joint  Stock  Bank.  Even 


BANKING  275 

if  such  lenders  had  the  intimate  knowledge  possessed  by  the 
Committee  of  one  of  these  associations  as  to  the  character  and 
capacity  of  the  borrower,  they  would  not  be  able  to  satisfy 
themselves  that  the  loan  was  required  for  a  really  productive 
purpose,  nor  would  they  be  able  to  see  that  it  was  properly  applied 
to  the  stipulated  object.  One  of  the  rules  of  the  co-operative 
banks  provides  for  the  expulsion  of  a  member  who  does  not 
apply  the  money  to  the  agreed  productive  purpose.  But  although 
these  "  banks  "  are  almost  hi  variably  situated  in  very  poor 
districts,  there  has  been  no  necessity  to  put  this  rule  in  force  in 
a  single  instance.  Social  influences  seem  to  be  quite  sufficient 
to  secure  obedience  to  the  association's  laws.1 

The  subsequent  history  of  this  system  of  banking  is 
extremely  interesting,  and  is,  in  itself,  an  indirect  indication 
of  the  change  that  has  been  effected  in  Irish  agricultural 
economy  in  the  intervening  years. 

The  table  on  following  page  contains  an  amount  of  informa- 
tive data  concerning  the  growth  and  operations  of  this  system 
in  Ireland  since  its  establishment  in  the  year  1895. 

The  reader  will  notice  from  these  figures  that  there  has  been 
a  falling  off  in  recent  years  in  the  number  and  total  value  of 
loans  granted  by  these  Societies.  The  report  of  the  Irish 
Agricultural  Organization  Society  Limited  for  the  year  ended 
March  31,  1918,  in  commenting  upon  the  position  of  the 
Irish  Agricultural  Credit  Societies,  stated  : 

The  fundamental  fact  in  the  present  position  of  these  societies 
is  that,  whilst  there  is  little  or  no  progress  to  report  in  those  of 
them  which  had  come  to  lean  on  State  capital  (now  withdrawn 
and  practically  all  repaid)  or  joint  stock  bank  overdrafts,  the 
more  self-reliant  societies  which  depended  on  local  deposits  for 
their  financial  support  are  holding  their  own.  This  is,  perhaps, 
all  that  can  be  expected  during  an  agricultural  "  boom  "  when 
money  is  more  plentiful  than  it  has  ever  been.  Whether, 
however,  this  type  of  society  will  persist  when  normal  conditions 
have  been  resumed  it  is  impossible  at  present  to  predict.  It 
is  certain  that  these  societies  have  been  of  great  use  in  backward 
districts,  where  they  have  tided  small  farmers  over  very  difficult 
tunes  and  broken  gombeening,  that  they  are  still  exceedingly 
useful  in  many  places,  and  that  there  seems  no  good  reason  why, 
wherever  agricultural  credit  may  still  be  needed  under  post-war 

1  Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Agricultural  Credit 
in  Ireland,  1914.  Cd.  7375).  paragraph  286,  p.  123. 

17 


258  MODERN   IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 


TABLE     SHOWING     THE     AMOUNT     OF     DEPOSITS,      LOAN 

CAPITAL,     TOTAL     CAPITAL,     ETC.,     ETC.,      OF     THE     CO- 

OPERATIVE    CREDIT     SOCIETIES     IN     IRELAND     IN     EACH 

YEAR    FROM    1895-1917. 

Year. 

Deposits 
of 

Total 

Capital 
^t 

Reserve 
Fund  of 

Total 
Number  of 
Loans 

Total 
Amount 

Societies 

Of 

Societies. 

Societies. 

Granted  to 
Members. 

of  Loans 
Granted. 

I 

i 

i 

i 

1895 

— 

— 

— 

— 

IOO 

1896 

— 

278 

32 

— 

388 

I897 

.-     — 

295 

42 

124 

475 

1898 

— 

3,420 

— 

— 

3-3o6 

1899 

—  • 

4,898 

— 

/  — 

5,55o 

1900 

— 

6,097 

— 

— 

7,270 

1901 

— 

9,123 

— 

2,534 

io,459 

1902 

— 

13,956 

— 

3,241 

I5,447 

1903 

— 

19,588 

— 

3,722 

20,435 

1904 

— 

28,466 

1,181 

5,822 

31,742 

1905 

12,710 

38,428 

i,7i7 

7,453 

43,641 

1906 

16,708 

46,381 

2,322 

8,447 

50,264 

1907 

17,098 

48,718 

2,670 

9,046 

53,H2 

1908 

2O,26l 

53,123 

2,960 

8,926 

56,004 

1909 

23,688 

56,469 

3,559 

9,213 

57,640 

igiO 

25,077 

55,885 

3,593 

8,618 

55,855 

1911 

27,290 

56,554 

3,686 

7>967 

56,055 

1912 

30,468 

62,206 

4,492 

8,522 

58,244 

iQI3 

28,685 

55,283 

4,493 

7,908 

55,493 

1914 

33,738 

56,272 

4,779 

7,352 

52,927 

i9J5 

37,l82 

52,784 

4,830 

6,301 

48,197 

1916 

39,431 

49,460 

4,584 

5,028 

41,281 

1917 

34,179 

43,872 

4,52i 

4,792 

4i,993 

conditions,  they  should  not  continue  to  be  utilized.  This  is  the 
opinion,  at  all  events,  of  most  of  those  amongst  whom  they  are 
still  doing  active  work. 


BANKING  259 


THE    NATIONAL   LAND    BANK 

The  latest  bank  opened  in  Ireland  is  the  National  Land 
Bank,  Limited,  which  has  its  head  office  in  Dublin.  It  is 
not  possible  to  give  any  data  concerning  its  operations,  for 
the  reason  that  it  is  not  yet  many  months  in  existence. 

Its  raison  d'etre  and  the  terms  it  offers  to  investors  are  set 
out  as  follows  : 

The  National  Land  Bank,  Ltd.,  has  been  founded  to  secure 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Irish  people  the  use  of  Irish  money  in 
Ireland,  and  to  establish  a  financial  centre  for  the  development 
of  their  interests.  The  most  important  of  the  objects  of  the 
Bank,  which  are  already  being  carried  out,  and  which  will  be 
kept  in  tile  forefront  of  its  operations,  are  Land  Purchase,  the 
taking  of  deposits  at  interest  to  be  used  in  financing  Irish  agri- 
culture and  industry,  and  the  carrying  on  of  a  general  banking 
business  (including  current  accounts). 

The  National  Land  Bank  offers  to  the  Irish  public  a  means 
of  investing  their  savings  and  surplus  funds  at  favourable 
rates  of  interest  and  with  the  greatest  possible  security  in  a 
Bank  which  does  not  make  profits  for  individuals,  and  which 
uses  its  funds  solely  in  the  development  of  their  own  industries 
and  agriculture. 

The  Bank  is  registered  under  the  Industrial  and  Provident 
Societies  Acts  as  a  co-operative  institution.  Under  the  rules 
the  interest  on  share  capital  is  strictly  limited,  and  practically 
all  the  disposable  surplus  on  each  year's  operations,  after  provid- 
ing for  a  reserve  fund  for  the  security  and  development  of  the 
business,  will  be  allocated  to  increasing  the  interest  allowed 
by  the  Bank  to  its  depositors. 

The  Bank  offers  to  depositors  the  security  of  the  mortgages 
on  Irish  Land,  the  greatest  portion  of  which  is  held  in  fee-simple. 
The  monies  secured  under  these  mortgages  are  guaranteed  by 
the  Directors  to  be  considerably  less  than  the  actual  value  of  the 
properties  ;  and  the  security  of  the  depositors  is  enhanced  by 
the  operation  of  the  Bank  which  sub-divides  large  estates  and 
grazing  ranches  into  small  holdings  for  tillage.  .  .  .  Irish  men 
and  women  must  be  patriotic  in  the  investment  of  their  money. 
The  money  deposited  in  the  Joint  Stock  Banks  is  not  used  in 
Ireland  ;  it  is  invested  in  so-called  gilt-edged  securities,  from 
which  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds  have  to  be  written  off 
yearly  for  depreciation.  Interest  at  2 £  or  3  per  cent  is  paid  to 
depositors  and  12  to  20  per  cent  to  shareholders.  THE  NATIONAL 


260   MODERN   IRISH  TRADE   AND   INDUSTRY 

LAND  BANK,  LTD.,  asks  for  your  deposits  to  invest  them  in 
Irish  Land  and  its  produce,  and  to  make  Irish  industry  and 
agriculture  fruitful  and  prosperous. 

The  Bank  offers  3^  per  cent  on  deposits  at  call  (nominally 
subject  to  a  month's  notice),  and  will  issue  deposit  bonds  at  a 
higher  rate  to  those  who  wish  to  leave  their  money  with  it  for  a 
year  or  several  years.  As  above  mentioned  the  security  is  first 
mortgages  on  Irish  land — which,  so  far  from  being  affected  by 
depreciation,  becomes  more  valuable  through  the  operations  of 
the  Bank. 

The  National  Land  Bank  is  an  Irish  institution  founded  to 
assist  in  the  rebuilding  of  Ireland's  prosperity,  the  restoration  of 
her  population,  and  the  securing  of  her  economic  independence. 
It  is  a  National  Bank  with  a  National  Ideal.  Its  security  will 
be  Irish  land  and  the  energy  and  faith  of  the  best  of  her  people. 

The  first  Directors  of  the  Bank  are  gentlemen  of  high  stand- 
ing, and  they  have  secured  as  Secretary  and  Manager  a 
gentleman  who  has  had  considerable  experience  in  connexion 
with  agricultural  banking  operations.  It  remains  to  be  seen 
whether  or  not  it  will  attain  its  object. 


7.     CONCLUSION 

The  foregoing  represent  the  principal  banking  systems 
established  in  Ireland.  The  amount  of  information  concern- 
ing them,  contained  in  this  chapter,  is  necessarily  incomplete, 
but  the  subject  of  Irish  banking,  if  fully  dealt  with,  would 
require  an  entire  volume  to  itself.  I  have  endeavoured  to 
give  the  reader  sufficient  data  upon  the  subject  to  enable  him 
to  form  a  fair  idea  of  the  variety  and  extent  of  Irish  banking 
operations  ;  and  as  previously  stated,  those  who  desire  to 
obtain  a  more  extensive  knowledge  of  this  subject  will  find  a 
full  range  of  works  easily  available  from  which  to  prosecute 
their  studies.  Before  closing  this  chapter  I  desire  to  acknow- 
ledge my  indebtedness  to  one  of  these  works,  namely,  the 
Report  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Agricultural 
Credit  in  Ireland,  1914,  *  a  volume  which  is  a  mine  of  valuable 
information  on  the  history  of  Irish  banking,  and  from  which 
many  of  the  figures  quoted  in  this  chapter  were  derived' 


*Cd.  7375.  *•  Price  43.  8d. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
CENSUS  OF  IRELAND 

TO  arrive  at  a  correct  understanding  of  the  causes 
responsible  for  the  dearth  of  and  fluctuations  in 
Irish  industry  in  modern  times,  it  is  essential  that  no 
important  factor  having  a  bearing  upon  this  subject  should  be 
lost  sight  of.  Of  the  many  influences  that  have  left  their  mark 
upon  the  situation,  one  of  the  most  important,  if  not  the  most 
important,  is  the  decrease  of  the  population  of  Ireland  during 
the  past  century.  I  append  a  few  tables,  taken  from  the 
latest  published  Census  of  Ireland  (1911),  so  that  the  reader 
may  compare  the  rise  or  fall,  at  various  times,  of  the  industries 
dealt  with  in  the  preceding  pages  with  the  population  of 
Ireland  at  corresponding  dates. 


TABLE      SHOWING     THE     POPULATION      OF     IRELAND 

IN  EACH   OF  THE   DECENNIAL   PERIODS,    1821-1911. 

POPULATION. 

Census 
Periods. 

Persons. 

Males. 

Females. 

1821 

6,801,827 

3,341,926 

3,459,901 

1831 

7,767,401 

3,794,880 

3,972,521 

1841 

8,175,124 

4,019,576 

4,155,548 

1851 

6,552,385 

3,190,630 

3,361,755 

1861 

5,798,967 

2,837,370 

2,961,597 

1871 

5,412,377 

2,639,753 

2,772,624 

1881 

5,174,836 

2,533,277 

2,641,559 

1891 

4,704,750 

2,318,953 

2,385,797 

1901 

4,458,775 

2,200,040 

2,258,735 

1911  l 

4,390,219 

2,192,048 

2,198,171 

1  There  were  25,100  military  returned  as  serving  in  Ireland  in  1911 

261 


262   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

The  following  table  shows,  by  Provinces,  the  Increase  or 
Decrease  of  the  Population  of  Ireland  in  each  of  the  decennial 
periods,  1921  to  1911  : — 


Period 

PROVINCES. 

10  yrs. 
Ended 

Leinster. 

Munster. 

Ulster. 

Con- 

naught. 

1831 

(Increase) 

152,221 

291,540 

288,128 

233,685 

1841 

(do.) 

64,018 

169,009 

99.751 

74,945 

I85I1 

(Decrease) 

300,993 

538,425 

374,493 

408,828 

1861 

(do.) 

215,103 

344,178 

97,644 

96,896 

1871 

(do.) 

118,184 

120,073 

81,008 

66,922 

1881 

(do.) 

60,462 

62,370 

9°>I53 

24,556 

1891 

(do.) 

91,229 

158,713 

123,261 

96,883 

1901 

(do.) 

34,931 

96,214 

36,988 

77,842 

1911} 

(Decrease) 
(Increase) 

9.215 

40,693 

1,130 

35,948 

1821^ 
to 

1911; 

(Decrease) 

595,488 

33.88  p.c. 

900,117 
46.50  p.c 

416,798 
20.  86  p.c. 

499.245 

44.97  p.c. 

The  occupations  of  the  people  at  the  date  of  the  1911  Census 
were  as  follows  : — 


Classes. 

Persons. 

Males. 

Females. 

Professional  Class 
Domestic  Class 
Commercial  Class 
Agricultural  Class 
Industrial  Class 

I4M34 

170,749 

ni,i43 

780,867 

6i3,397 

103,603 

25,831 
101,396 
721,669 
434,699 

37,531 
144,918 

9.747 
59,198 
178,698 

Indefinite  and  Non-j 
Productive  Class   ) 

2,572,929 

804,850 

1,768,079 

1  This  period  included  the  years  of  and  four  years  following  the  Irish 
Famine  of  1846-7. 


CENSUS   OF  IRELAND 


263 


The  final  table  of  this  series  shows  the  extent  of  the  emi- 
gration from  Ireland  in  each  of  the  decennial  periods  from  1851 
to  1911 : 


Period 
10  years 
ended. 

NO.    OF  EMIGRANTS. 

Males. 

Females. 

Total  for  10  years. 

1861 
1871 
1881 
1891 
1901 
1911 

585,227 
426,896 
338,663 

393,744 
200,125 

171,875 

563,891 
341,963 
279,987 
374,361 
230,868 

173,213 

1,149,118 
768,859 
618,650 
768,105 

430,993 
345,088 

TOTAL 

2,116,530 

1,964,283 

^oSo.Sis1 

YEAR  191  1 

Total  Population  of  Ireland2  4,365,119 

A  record  such  as  the  foregoing  must  surely  make  the 
impartial  reader  (no  matter  what  his  nationality  may  be) 
realize  that  Ireland  has  suffered  during  these  sixty  years  from 
a  deep-seated  disease ;  that  such  an  appalling  exodus  to 
other  lands  of  the  youth  of  the  country  cannot  be  accounted 
a  matter  of  normal  import.  No  one  will  accuse  Irish  men  or 
women  of  being  lacking  in  affection  for  their  own  land. 
Therefore,  want  of  patriotism  is  an  explanation  that  must  be 
eliminated  from  the  list  of  causes  accountable  for  this  reduc- 
tion of  population.  Had  Great  Britain  suffered  in  a  like 
manner  during  these  years,  such  a  circumstance  would  to  some 
extent  justify  Ireland's  depopulation.  But,  if  we  take  the 
figures  relating  to  the  period  twenty  years  anterior  to  the  last 
Census,  we  find  that,  from  the  years  1891-1911,  the  population 
of  England  and  Wales  increased  by  7,067,967  persons,  whilst 
that  of  Scotland  increased  by  735,257  persons.  During  the 
same  period  the  population  of  Ireland  decreased  by  3I4.531- 

1  The  total  here  given  for  the  sixty  years  is  exclusive  of  110,749 
persons — 61,766  males,  48,973  females — regarding  whom  the  county 
from  which  they  came  was  not  stated  in  the  original  Returns. 

a  Exclusive  of  military  serving  in  Ireland. 


264  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

When  one  considers  the  loss,  in  all  its  aspects,  which  Ireland 
has  suffered  in  consequence  of  this  tragic  denudation,  it  is 
to  her  credit  that  she  has  progressed  in  trade  and  industry 
even  to  the  point  which  she  has  now  reached,  and  one  is 
able  to  form  a  fair  impression  of  how  much  further  she  would 
have  advanced  in  this  connexion  had  she  been  free  to  pursue 
her  own  industrial  policy  instead  of  being  compelled,  as  she 
has  been,  to  subordinate  it  to  that  of  Great  Britain.  I 
shall  deal  more  fully  with  this  aspect  of  the  subject  in  the 
concluding  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE   IRISH   INDUSTRIAL  MOVEMENT 

WITHIN  the  past  century,  as  well  as  in  earlier  times, 
movements  sprang  into  being  in  Ireland  which  had 
for  their  object  the  fostering  and  extension  of  Irish 
industries.  They  performed  valuable  work  while  they  lasted, 
but,  with  one  exception,  were  not  long  lived.  The  one  excep- 
tion is  the  present  Irish  industrial  movement,  which  origin- 
ated in  1893  with  the  establishment  of  the  Gaelic  League, 
which  made  the  support  of  Irish  industries  one  of  the  most 
important  planks  in  its  programme.  Progress  was  consider- 
ably accelerated  by  the  establishment  in  Dublin  in  the  year 
1900  of  a  weekly  journal  styled  The  Leader.  This  journal 
carried  on  a  vigorous  and  effective  propaganda  in  favour  of 
Irish  men  and  women  supporting  native  industry ;  it 
performed  an  amount  of  most  useful  spade-work,  and  con- 
tinues to  do  excellent  work  in  this  connexion. 

The  next,  and  most  important,  milestone  was  reached  in 
the  year  1903,  when  the  first  Industrial  Development  Associa- 
tion was  established.  Some  time  previously  a  group  of  young 
men,  members  of  the  Cork  branch  of  the  Celtic  Literary 
Society,  had  realized  the  need  of  an  industrial  organization 
capable  of  attracting  Irish  men  and  women  of  every  shade  of 
political  and  sectarian  opinion  into  its  fold  ;  an  organization 
that  would  confine  itself  solely  to  the  advancement  of  Irish 
industries  and  ignore  all  extraneous  matters  ;  an  organization 
that,  whilst  availing  itself  of  the  natural  sentiment  of  the 
people  in  favour  of  anything  that  would  in  any  way  uplift 
their  country,  would  conduct  its  proceedings  on  strict  business 
lines.  They  realized  that  without  an  organization  such  as 
this  the  then  infant  industrial  movement  might  never  grow 
to  maturity.  To  supply  this  need  these  young  men,  with  the 
co-operation  of  a  number  of  Irish  manufacturers  and  others, 
organized  a  public  meeting,  held  in  the  Council  Chamber  of 

265 


266  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

the  Cork  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  April,  1903,  which  meeting 
formally  established  the  Cork  Industrial  Development  Asso- 
ciation, and  appointed  a  committee,  the  composition  of  which 
was  thoroughly  representative  of  every  shade  of  thought 
indulged  in  in  Ireland  and  of  every  grade  of  society,  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  the  Association. 

Anyone  familiar  with  the  industrial  condition  of  Ireland 
in  those  days  will  recall  that  at  that  time  the  vast  majority 
of  the  Irish  people  were  ignorant  of  the  fact  that,  in  addition 
to  the  linen,  woollen,  brewing,  and  distilling  industries, 
many  other  industries,  most  of  them  of  small  dimensions, 
existed  in  Ireland  ;  a  further  proportion  of  the  people  knew, 
in  a  vague  sort  of  way,  that  other  Irish  industries  existed,  but 
they  made  no  effort  to  support  them  ;  others,  without  any 
practical  knowledge  of  Irish  manufactures,  were  convinced 
that  Irish  articles  could  not  be  as  good  as  those  made 
elsewhere.  Irish  traders,  both  wholesale  and  retail,  gave 
little  support  to  Irish-made  goods,  and,  in  the  early  days  of 
the  industrial  movement,  instances  occurred  where  firms, 
when  forced  by  customers  to  stock  Irish  goods,  charged  exces- 
sive prices  for  these  articles,  and  in  this  way  endeavoured  to 
create  the  impression  that  Irish  goods  were  not  as  good  value 
as  similar  commodities  imported  into  Ireland.  To  dispel 
this  fog  and  substitute  for  it  a  clear  Irish  industrial  atmosphere 
was  the  task  undertaken  by  the  parent  association  in  Cork  and 
the  kindred  associations  which  speedily  sprang  into  being 
in  other  districts  in  Ireland. 

A  word  as  to  how  the  members  of  the  associations  set  about 
trying  to  encompass  this  undertaking  may  interest  the  reader. 
They,  themselves,  insisted  upon  being  supplied  with  Irish- 
made  goods ;  they  gathered  together  the  fullest  possible 
information  concerning  existing  Irish  industries  and  widely 
circulated  this  information  ;  amongst  other  means  which  they 
adopted  was  the  compilation  of  directories  of  Irish  manu- 
factures, tens  of  thousands  of  copies  of  which  were  circulated 
throughout  the  country  and  abroad  ;  they  induced  Irish 
public  bodies  to  specify  for  Irish-made  goods  when  contract- 
ing for  supplies  for  their  institutions  ;  they  held  numerous 
public  meetings  throughout  the  country  ;  organized  special 
Irish  Week  shop-window  displays  of  Irish  goods,  as  well  as 
exhibitions  of  these  goods  in  the  chief  cities  and  towns  through- 
out Ireland  and  at  agricultural  and  other  shows ;  they 


THE  IRISH  INDUSTRIAL  MOVEMENT    267 

organized  annual  all-Ireland  industrial  conferences  at  which 
matters  of  vital  importance  to  the  industrial  welfare  of  the 
country  were  fully  discussed  and  the  decisions  come  to  were 
put  into  action — these  annual  conferences  were  held  in 
Belfast,  Cork,  Dublin,  Galway,  Limerick,  and  Londonderry — 
and  they  had  recourse  to  a  variety  of  other  methods,  some 
of  which  will  receive  special  mention  further  on. 

Not  long  after  the  establishment  of  the  Cork  Association, 
similar  bodies  were  established  in  Limerick,  Dublin,  Belfast, 
Galway,  Londonderry,  and  many  of  the  principal  towns 
throughout  the  country.  Some  of  these  have  now  ceased  to 
exist,  but  the  chief  ones  have  continued  and  have  increased 
their  influence  and  usefulness  as  time  has  passed  on.  The 
Cork  Industrial  Development  Association  has,  within  the 
past  few  years,  received  the  thanks  of  such  well-known  firms 
as  Messrs.  Henry  Ford  &  Co.,  of  Detriot,  U.S.A.,  and  Messrs. 
Furness,  Withy  &  Co.,  of  West  Hartlepool,  for  assistance 
they  afforded  these  firms  in  arranging  preliminary  details 
incidental  to  their  establishing  industries  in  the  city  and 
county  of  Cork.  The  Cork  and  Dublin  Industrial  Develop- 
ment Associations  have  both,  amongst  their  other  activities, 
performed  most  valuable  work  in  helping  to  procure  and 
organize  direct  shipping  facilities  between  Ireland  and 
countries  abroad,  as  well  as  assisting  in  finding  foreign  markets 
for  Irish  manufactures. 

Lest  the  reader  may  be  sceptical  of  the  testimony  of  an 
interested  person  to  the  practical  results  which  have  accrued 
to  Irish  industry  from  the  work  carried  on  by  the  Associations, 
I  shall  content  myself  with  quoting  the  results  of  an  investiga- 
tion into  this  subject  made  by  the  Tariff  Commission,  of 
London,  in  the  year  1912 — nine  years  after  the  establishment 
of  the  parent  Industrial  Development  Association. 

In  their  Report  l  the  Commission  state  : 

Inquiries  made  by  the  Tariff  Commission  among  leading 
British  manufacturers  show  that  the  Irish  national  preference 
for  Irish  goods  has  had  some  effect  upon  the  trade  of  Great 
Britain.  A  Huddersfield  firm,  relating  the  experience  of  York- 
shire cloth  manufacturers  in  Ireland,  says  : 

About  thirty  years  ago  Ireland  was  an  important  market  for  good 
classes  of  woollen  cloths  manufactured  in  Yorkshire,  but  at  the  time 

1  The  Economic  Position  of  Ireland  and  its  Relation  to  Tariff 
Reform.  London:  P.  S.  King  &  Son,  1912,  (Price  3d.)  pp.  6-10. 


268  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

of  Mr.  Parnell's  agitation  for  Home  Rule  a  practical  boycott  of  British 
goods  was  set  on  foot.  Many  large  Irish  cloth  merchants  have  since 
ceased  to  purchase  British-made  cloth,  and  others  say  that  they  are 
often  compelled  to  label  as  Irish  manufacture  British  goods  which  they 
purchase.1 

In  regard  to  hosiery,  the  following  report  is  made  by  the 
Dublin  agent  of  one  of  the  largest  British  hosiery  firms  : — 

There  is  no  doubt  whatever  about  the  marked  preference  shown  all 
over  Ireland  for  home-made  goods  of  every  description.  This  feeling 
is  so  pronounced  that  in  many  instances  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  article 
is  a  secondary  consideration,2  the  purchaser  being  more  interested  in 
getting  an  assurance  that  it  has  been  made  in  Ireland ;  and  they  are 
not  to  be  put  off  by  being  merely  told  so,  they  must  see  the  trade  mark 
or  stamp  "  Made  in  Ireland  "  on  each  article,  and  inspectors  have  been 
appointed  to  see  that  no  fraud  is  carried  on,  prosecutions  by  them  occur 
frequently,  and  I  think  in  nearly  every  instance  goods  sold  as  Irish 
manufacture  are  genuine. 

In  connexion  with  the  drapery  trade,  I  may  say  that  English  and 
Scotch  manufacturers  of  hosiery  and  woollen  goods  have  suffered  more 
than  any  other  departments.  There  are  at  least  twenty  hosiery  factories 
and  as  many  tweed  mills  in  Ireland  at  present,  and  all  doing  fairly  well, 
also  numerous  makers  of  scarves,  caps,  ready-made  clothing,  shirts, 
boots,  etc.  I  should  tell  you  that  this  prejudice  in  favour  of  Irish- 
made  goods  is  much  more  emphatic  in  the  South  and  West  than  it  is 
in  the  North,  as  among  the  Home  Rulers  and  Nationalists  the  preference 
has  a  more  or  less  political  taint. 

The  representative  of  one  of  the  foremost  British  paper-making 
firms  says  : 

My  experience  during  the  seven  years  I  was  working  Dublin  and 
the  South  of  Ireland  was  that  preference  for  Irish-made  goods,  as 
applied  to  our  own  particular  manufactures,  the  paper  and  stationery 
trade  productions  as  a  whole,  and  all  classes  of  manufactured  goods 
generally,  did  most  decidedly  exist ;  that  it  was  growing  in  force  and 
favour  during  the  period  stated  above  ;  that  it  had  to  be  regarded  as  a 
most  serious  factor  in  the  situation  by  all  classes  of  traders,  including 
the  retailer,  the  wholesaler,  and  the  manufacturer,  both  Irish  and  other- 
wise, not  only  at  that  time,  but  in  regard  to  its  future  development. 

I  think  I  am  right  in  saying  that  this  preference  was  the  direct 
outcome  of  a  movement  that  had  long  been  taking  shape  in  favour  of  a 
development  of  Irish  industries.  It  arose  out  of  a  growing  belief  that 
the  salvation  of  Ireland  was  ultimately  an  economic  rather  than  a 
political  question,  and,  this  being  so,  one  of  the  first  steps  was  to 
re-create  an  industrial  Ireland,  and  preference  for  Irish-made  goods 
arose  naturally  out  of  this  situation.  With  a  sentimental  people  like 

1  The     Irish    Industrial    Development    Association    (Incorporated) 
has  prosecuted  offenders  detected  indulging  in  this  practice. 

2  The  Irish  Industrial  Associations  only  ask  the  Irish  public  to  sup- 
port Irish  goods  when  they  are  equal  in  value  to  those  made  elsewhere, 
not  otherwise. 


THE  IRISH  INDUSTRIAL  MOVEMENT    269 

the  Irish,  therefore,  everything  was  ripe  for  an  appeal  to  them  on  these 
I  think  it  is  necessary  to  appreciate  these  circumstances 
it  we  are  to  properly  understand  the  situation  as  it  exists  at  the  present 
time,  or  as  it  did  exist  during  the  period  referred  to. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  up  till  recently,  at  any  rate,  Ireland  was 
the  only  country  possessing  a  national  trade  mark  similar  to  that 
possessed  by  any  trading  concern. 

I  can  illustrate  this  from  many  cases  in  my  own  experience.  I  will 
give  just  one  or  two.  A.,  of  Dublin,  put  on  the  market  an  Irish-made 
account  book  which  it  was  claimed  by  him  was  made  throughout  in 

Ireland.     The  paper,  I  believe,  was  made  either  at or  by ,  and 

the  book  was  made  up  and  bound  in  Ireland.  I  remember  Mr.  B.,  of 
Cork,  who  was,  I  think,  both  a  Protestant  and  a  Unionist,  saying  to 'me 
apropos  of  this  book  of  A's.,  "  I  know  I  can  get  a  better  book  from  you 
at  the  price,  but  A.  's  is  fair  value,  it  is  Irish  made,  and  it  is  an  Irish-made 
book  that  my  customers  are  asking  for,  which  yours  is  not." 

Then  I  have  a  recollection  of  a  conversation  that  took  place  with 
Mr.  B.,  of  Dublin,  relative  to  the  envelope  tender  for  the  Dublin  United 
Tramway  Company.  I  believe  I  am  right  in  saying  that  this  order 
was  given  out  to  a  Dublin  firm  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  were  Irish 
manu  f  acturers . 

My  experience  all  the  time  I  was  working  Ireland  was  that  the 
preference  for  Irish-made  goods  was  something  which  I  always  had 
to  be  fighting  against,  and  it  was  always  cropping  up  in  a  fresh  and  more 
menacing  form.  I  frequently  heard  of  cases  of  clauses  being  inserted 
in  tenders  sent  out  by  local  bodies  for  the  supplies  of  stationery,  etc., 
stipulating  that  all  goods  supplied  should  be  on  Irish-made  papers, 
and  in  some  cases  the  actual  paper  was  specified.  The  invariable 
comment  of  the  stationer  or  printer  was  to  the  effect  that  it  was  no 
concern  of  theirs  whether  the  stipulated  papers  were  value  or  not ; 
they  had  just  got  to  supply  what  was  asked  for. 

C.,  of  Dublin,  have  a  i/-  line  of  notepaper  called  "  Ancient  Irish." 
This  line  has  a  very  big  sale  all  over  the  country.  It  is  fair  value,  but 
certainly  no  better  than  many  other  i/-  lines  on  the  market;  yet  it 
commands  a  big  sale  simply  because  it  can  claim  to  be  an  Irish-made 
line.  Some  years  back,  at  the  instigation  of  our  representative  in 
Ireland,  we  produced  a  line  which  followed  somewhat  closely,  both  as 
regards  quality  of  contents  and  general  design,  the  "  Ancient  Irish  " 
referred  to  above.  When  I  took  over  the  working  of  Ireland  this  line 
was  being  cleared,  and  I  sold  a  parcel  to  a  firm  in  an  Irish  city  with 
rather  unfortunate  results,  as  they  made  a  display  of  this  line  in  one  of 
their  windows,  and  were  hauled  up  by  some  Society  for  the  Protection 
of  Irish  Industry,  and  threatened  that  if  they  did  not  immediately 
withdraw  this  line  they  would  be  proceeded  against  for  infringing,  if 
not  the  letter,  the  spirit  of  the  Irish  Industries'  movement,  and  the  firm 
in  question  viewed  the  threat  with  sufficient  importance  to  immediately 
withdraw  the  offending  line. 

Of  course  there  is  always  a  limit  to  the  price  which  any  man,  Individu- 
ally or  collectively,  will  pay  for  his  patriotism,  and  the  more  enlightened 
business  people,  whether  traders  or  consumers,  know  the  exact  margin 
they  are  prepared  to  concede  in  this  direction. 

Preference  must  be  recognized  as  existing,  none  the  less  that  it  is 


270   MODERN   IRISH  TRADE   AND   INDUSTRY 

based  on  sentiment  rather  than  statute,  and  from  the  English  point 
of  view  Irish  trade  must  be  regarded  as  a  proposition  similar  in  its 
nature,  say,  to  English  trade  in  a  protected  country,  bearing  in  mind, 
of  course,  that  the  situation  in  Ireland  is  quite  unique. 

Another  traveller  now  working  on  Irish  ground  says  : 

This  is  a  very  serious  matter  so  far  as  the  South  of  Ireland  is  con- 
cerned. I  understand  it  originated  in  Cork,  but  the  present  stronghold 
is  Dublin  ;  personally,  I  believe  it  originated  with  the  "  Sinn  Fein  " 
Society,  meaning  "  Ourselves  alone."  The  Dublin  printers,  etc., 
on  every  possible  occasion  use  the  Irish-made  mark  ;  they  even  go 
so  far  as  to  stamp  it  in  gold  on  the  back  of  account  books,  and  I  know 
a  card  being  sold  in  Dublin  at  23.  3d.  per  M.,  which  is  faced  with 
a  foreign  tint,  and  generally  is  a  vile  production  against  our  "  Nonsuch  " 
at  2s.  but  it  is  sold  as  "  Irish-made  "  paper,  etc. 

The  County  Councils  stipulate  for  Irish-made  paper  invariably. 

From  the  foregoing  returns  and  statement  it  is  apparent  that : 

(1)  Irish  industry  covers  a  far  wider  range  than  is  commonly 
supposed. 

(2)  Under  the  fiscal  and  other  conditions  of  the  past  sixty 
years  Irish  industries  in  general,  like  Irish  agriculture,  have  suffered 
severely,  though  the  rate  of  decline  has  materially  slackened  in 
recent  years. 

(3)  The    numbers    employed    in    most    Irish    manufacturing 
industries  show  a  decline  greater  than  the  decline  in  the  popula- 
tion.    The  population  fell  from  8,175,000  in  1841  to  4,443,000 
in  1901,  or  46  per  cent,  while  the  numbers  employed  in  manu- 
facturing industries  fell  from  989,000  to  339,000,  or  66  per  cent. 
Between  1881  and  1901  the  decline  was  14  per  cent  in  population 
and  1 1  per  cent  in  persons  occupied  in  manufactures. 

(4)  Many  causes  in  addition  to  the  decline  of  population  have 
contributed  to  the  decrease  of  Irish  industry.     One  of  the  most 
important  is  the  increased   use  of  machinery  and   the  transfer 
of  the  hand-loom  and  cottage  industries  of  Ireland  to  the  factories 
of  Ireland  and  Great  Britain. 

(5)  The  linen  industry  is  by  far  the  largest  Irish  industry. 
According  to  the  Census  of  Production  of  1907,  it  gives  employ- 
ment to  71,761  hands.     Next  in  importance  are  the  clothing, 
handkerchief,  and  millinery  workshops,  employing  34,852.   Other 
industries    named   in    order   of   importance   are  :     Bread    and 
biscuit  (9,464),  brewing  and  malting  (6,451),  engineering  (5,767), 
bleaching,  dyeing,  etc.  (5,767),  grain  milling  (4,875),  woollen  and 
worsted  (3,341),  flax  scutching  (3,760),  timber  (3,440),  distilling 
(2,423),  mineral  waters,  etc. (2, no),  bacon  curing  (2,049),  boots 
and  shoes   (2,026).     The  numbers  employed  in  private  ship- 
building are  excluded  from  the  Census  of  Production  in  order  to 
fulfil  the  pledge  of  the  Government  not  to  disclose  particulars 
which  could  be  identified  as  relating  to  the  two  Irish  companies. 


THE  IRISH   INDUSTRIAL  MOVEMENT    271 

(6)  It  is  obvious  from  the  foregoing  tables  that  there  are  in 
Ireland  materials  for  greater  industrial  activity.     Agriculture 
is  still,  and  will  remain,  the  main  industry  of  the  country,  and  the 
regeneration  of  the  rural  life  of  Ireland  which  is  now  in  progress 
must  provide  opportunities  for  restoring  former  industries  and 
increasing  the  variety  and  range  of  their  output  under  modern 
conditions. 

(7)  British  manufacturers  comment  on  the  strong  Protectionist 
influence  of  the  "  Made-in-Ireland  Movement,"  which  is  fostered 
by  various  political  and  economic  associations  such  as  the  Sinn 
Fein,  Gaelic  League,  and  the  Industrial  Development  Associa- 
tions. 

(8)  Under  a  reform  of  the   British  fiscal   policy,   which  is 
responsible  for  so  much  of  the  decline  of  Irish  agriculture  and 
industry,  it  would  be  possible  to  give  direct  encouragement  to 
Irish  industries  as  well  as  to  those  of  the  rest  of  the  United 
Kingdom.     Natural  conditions  in  Ireland  are  favourable  to  the 
creation  of  tobacco  and  sugar  industries,  and  it  would  be  the 
object  of  statesmanship  to  encourage  them  in  various  ways  as  well 
as  the  linen,  shipbuilding,  woollen,  boot  and  shoe,  furniture  and 
other  industries  which  have  or  have  had  a  substantial  footing 
in  that  country. 

The  reader  might  conclude  from  reading  some  of  the  fore- 
going comments  that  the  Irish  industrial  movement  was 
unsupported  in  the  North  of  Ireland.  Therefore,  I  shall 
venture  to  trespass  upon  his  patience  by  quoting  excerpts 
from  some  leading  articles  on  this  subject  which  have  appeared 
from  time  to  time  in  the  principal  Belfast  newspapers. 
Practically  all  of  these  papers,  politically,  hold  strong  Unionist 
opinions,  but  that  fact  has  not  prevented  them  from  being 
consistent  supporters  of  the  Irish  industrial  movement. 

The  Irish  Industrial  Development  Association  .  .  .  has  already 
done  much  useful  work.  There  is  nothing  that  this  country 
needs  more  than  the  development  of  its  manufactures  and 
industries.  Agriculture,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  more  prosperous 
when  the  tenants  have  all  become  the  owners  of  their  farms, 
and  when  they  have  adopted  the  best  methods  of  cultivation  ; 
but  although  Ireland  will  always  be  mainly  an  agricultural 
country,  it  must  have  other  industries.  ...  It  is  the  object 
of  the  Industrial  Association  to  assist  in  reviving  these  industries 
or  in  bringing  new  ones  into  existence  ;  and  it  tries  to  do  this  by 
increasing  the  demand  for  Irish  manufactures.  .  .  .  It  is  no  part 
of  the  object  of  the  Association  to  encourage  or  reward  industrial 
inefficiency.  ...  If  there  still  lingers  in  any  part  of  Ireland  a 


272   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 

prejudice  against  home  manufactures,  or  at  any  rate  a  tendency 
to  think  that  those  which  are  brought  from  other  countries 
must  be  superior,  the  Association  should  be  the  means  of  eradicat- 
ing it.  ...  The  figures  quoted  in  the  report  regarding  Irish 
imports  and  exports  show  that  the  external  trade  of  the  country 
is  improving.  In  1904  the  total  was  under  £105,000,000,  while 
in  1907  it  was  £121,500,000.  .  .  .  And  the  report  states  that  the 
home  demand  for  Irish  manufactures  has  also  increased  during 
the  same  period.  Thus  the  industrial  revival  is  a  fact,  though 
much  remains  to  be  done,  and  the  Industrial  Development 
Association  is  helping  to  do  it.  If  the  demand  for  Irish  goods 
grows,  they  will  be  supplied.  Our  existing  industries  will  expand, 
and  new  industries  will  be  founded.  More  employment  will 
follow,  and  the  dram  of  emigration  will  grow  less.  Ireland  will 
become  more  prosperous  than  it  has  been  for  centuries  if  the 
industrial  revival  is  allowed  to  go  on  peacefully.  An  Association 
which  is  striving  to  increase  the  material  prosperity  of  Ireland 
may  fairly  appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  the  public  to  support  it. — 
Belfast  News-Letter. 

The  success  that  has  attended  the  Belfast  Industrial 
Association,  brought  into  being  two  years  ago  in  order  to  promote 
Irish  industries,  illustrates  that  which  had  already  been  fully 
demonstrated,  that  with  the  Irish  industrial  revival  this  city  is 
in  active  sympathy.  ...  It  would  be  strange  indeed  if  it  had 
been  otherwise,  for  it  is  beyond  doubt  that  from  the  revival  of 
Irish  industries  this  city,  in  which  Irish  enterprise  has  been 
most  signally  manifested,  stands  to  gain  more  than  any  other 
place  in  the  country.  .  .  .  The  Belfast  Association  has  sister 
associations  in  Dublin  and  in  Cork,  .  .  .  and  without  any 
disparagement  of  the  others  it  may  be  said  that  the  Belfast 
Society  has,  in  well-directed  energy  and  in  enthusiasm  in  the 
cause,  fully  held  its  own.  From  the  first  the  Association  has 
been  all-comprehensive  ;  it  has  known  nothing  of  political  or 
ecclesiastical  differences ;  it  has  busied  itself  with  practical 
schemes  for  bringing  before  the  public  the  merits  of  the  goods 
that  are  produced  in  Ireland,  and  that  it  is  not  only  the  duty  but 
the  interest  of  those  who  live  in  Ireland  to  support  Irish  industries. 
Especially  successful  in  this  direction  has  been  the  holding  of 
"  Irish  Week."  .  .  .  That  much  good  came  of  it,  that  many 
were  enlightened  as  to  the  number  and  character  of  Irish  native 
products,  and  discovered  that  it  was  possible  for  them  to  obtain 
of  home  manufacture  many  articles  of  which  they  had  been  quite 
unaware  that  they  were  made  in  Ireland,  and  that  in  conse- 
quence the  demand  for  home-made  goods  has  been  increased, 
is  beyond  doubt.  .  .  .  Lord  Londonderry  .  .  .  was  right  when 
he  said  that  the  reason  why  contracts  that  might  have  been 


THE  IRISH  INDUSTRIAL  MOVEMENT    273 

placed  in  Ireland  were  given  to  English  firms  was  that  the 
public  were  in  ignorance  of  what  Irishmen  could  do  in  various 
departments  of  industry.  It  was  that  ignorance  which  they  were 
endeavouring  to  eliminate.  .  .  .  They  are  but  the  few  who  are 
>  to  afford  to  gratify  their  patriotic  instincts  in  deliberately 
going  to  the  dearer  market,  and  there  are  still  fewer,  if  they  exist 
at  all,  who  are  willing  to  put  up  with  an  inferior  article  because 
it  is  Irish.  ...  At  the  same  time,  there  is  no  true  Irishman  who, 
having  placed  before  him  two  articles  of  the  same  quality,  and  of 
the  same  price,  one  of  them  Irish  and  the  other  imported,  will 
for  a  moment  hesitate  about  giving  his  patronage  to  home 
industry.  The  Belfast  Industrial  Association  makes  its  appeal 
to  the  consumer,  in  whom  it  is  most  desirable  to  cultivate  the 
habit  of  asking  for  Irish  goods  and  seeing  that  he  gets  them.  .  .  . 
— Northern  Whig. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Irish  Industrial  Development 
Association  .  .  .  records  some  gratifying  results  of  the  year's 
work,  not  the  least  important  of  which  was  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  and  Technical  Instruction's  adoption  of  the  Council's 
suggestion  that  the  Government  prosecutions  of  fraud  on  Irish 
trade  should  be  extended  beyond  agricultural  produce.  .  .  . 
The  work  of  the  Association  has  been  most  valuable.  The  all- 
Irish  shop  windows  crusade  resulted  very  advantageously  to  most 
of  the  public-spirited  merchants  who  carried  it  on  ;  and  the 
influence  of  the  "  Irish  Week  "  displays  has  not  yet  departed. 
...  It  is  only  by  persistent  agitation  and  by  constantly  impress- 
ing the  public  and  the  shopkeepers  with  the  advantages  of 
popularizing  and  cheapening  Irish  goods  that  any  permanent 
benefit  will  be  obtained.  Individual  sympathizers  with  the 
movement  are  doing  their  best,  and  co-operate  with  earnestness 
and  effect  in  the  work  of  the  Association,  the  efforts  of  which 
they  admire  and  hope  will  continue.  The  B.I.D.A.  has  kept 
itself  before  the  public  splendidly.  .  .  . — Irish  News. 

The  efforts  of  the  Belfast  Branch  of  the  Irish  Industrial 
Development  Association  for  the  benefit  of  native  industries 
have  not  been  restricted  to  the  Northern  capital,  nor  indeed  to 
Ulster.  The  whole  country  has  been  decidedly  the  gainer  by 
its  w.despread  activities  in  the  promotion  of  home  trade  and  the 
procuring  in  other  markets  something  of  that  degree  of  recog- 
nition to  which  the  merits  of  many  Irish  manufactures  entitle 
them.  It  cannot  be  too  often  insisted  upon  that  the  Association 
in  no  sense  makes  the  appeal  ad  misericordiam.  .  .  .  The  Associa- 
tion takes  its  stand  upon  the  only  possible  and  practical  platform, 
namely,  that  this  country  can  produce  articles  of  various  kinds 
which  are  at  least  equal  in  quality  and  price  to  anything  that 
trades  in  the  marts  of  the  world.  It  asks  that  they  should  not  be 

18 


274  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

pushed  to  one  side  and  left  unconsidered  simply  because  .  .  . 
Ireland  has  not  heretofore  been  considered  as  a  serious  competitor 
against  other  countries  in  some  such  article.  .  .  .  The  great 
Exhibition  which  was  held  a  few  months  ago  in  the  Ulster  Hall 
was  of  a  somewhat  startling  character.  It  conveyed  to  the 
Ulster  public  some  adequate  conception  of  the  extent  to  which 
Irish  industries  are  in  existence.  It  enabled  them  to  see  clearly 
that  there  was  absolutely  no  reason — sentimental  or  economical — 
why  many  of  the  articles  employed  in  daily  use  should  be  imported 
from  abroad,  when  equally  good  value  could  be  obtained  at 
home,  and  additional  work  for  Irish  workers  thereby  provided. 
The  more  that  lesson  is  inculcated  alike  by  precept  and  examples, 
such  as  the  exhibition  alluded  to,  the  better  it  will  be  both  for 
producer  and  consumer.  .  .  .  What  the  Association  really  wants 
to  do  is  to  proclaim  its  policy  in  every  city,  town,  and  village 
in  the  country  ;  aye,  in  every  household.  Its  programme  must 
be  to  spread  the  light,  to  advertise  day  in  and  day  out.  .  .  .  All 
the  great  business  concerns  in  the  country  are  bound  to  co-operate 
in  the  programme,  and  to  give  such  assistance  as  may  be  needed, 
for  it  is  their  interests  that  the  Association  is  forwarding.  .  .  . 
We  have  slept  while  others,  wide  awake,  have  hustled  us  out 
of  even  our  own  markets.  It  is  high  time  to  leap  into  activity, 
and  cease  day-dreaming  ;  there  is  work  to  do.  .  .  .  The  Indus- 
trial Association  has  pointed  the  way  ;  it  is  for  the  people  to 
work  out  their  own  economic  salvation. — Belfast  Evening 
Telegraph. 

. .  .  We  honestly  believe  that  many  of  our  products  are  the  finest 
and  the  best  of  the  kind  in  the  world,  but  there  are  too  many 
among  us  who  think  that,  like  the  prophets,  Irish  industries 
should  not  be  respected  in  their  own  country :  .  .  .  that  the  more 
goods  manufactured  in  foreign  countries  that  are  sold  in  this 
country  the  better  it  is  for  our  local  artizans  and  workpeople.  .  .  . 
However,  this  Industrial  Development  Association  does  not 
concern  itself  with  theoretical,  but  the  practical  side  of  economics 
and  industry.  It  holds  that  the  more  goods  we  manufacture 
at  home  the  better  will  it  be  for  the  industries  and  the  people  of 
the  country  ;  that  the  more  Irish-made  goods  our  people  consume 
the  more  employment  and  capital  they  will  keep  at  home.  .  .  . 
The  Association  is  not  a  boycotting,  but  a  competition  challenging 
one,  with  the  proviso  that  consumers  should  get  rid  of  the  old 
feeling  of  indifference  to  home  products,  or  of  preference  for  those 
that  are  foreign.  It  is  because  of  its  fair,  practical  character 
that  we  commend  this  Association  and  its  work.  .  .  .  The  real 
way  to  promote  and  support  our  industries  is  not  to  talk  about 
the  advantages  of  supporting  Irish  industries,  but  to  go  on  sup- 
porting them,  and  having  no  talk  about  it. — Ulster  Echo. 


THE  IRISH  INDUSTRIAL  MOVEMENT     275 

The  Irish  Press,  without  an  exception,  has  invariably 
advocated  the  objects  of  the  Irish  Industrial  movement, 
and  it  would  be  difficult  to  appraise  the  debt  which  the  move- 
ment owes  to  these  journals.  The  first  President  of  the  Cork 
Association,  who  continued  to  occupy  that  post  for  fifteen 
years,  is  one  of  the  owners  of  a  group  of  the  principal  South  of 
Ireland  newspapers.  It  was  largely  due  to  his  (Mr.  George 
Crosbie's)  disinterested  and  unostentatious  assistance,  in 
very  many  ways,  that  the  movement  progressed  so  rapidly 
in  its  early  days.  At  that  time,  when  an  influential  Press 
campaign  was  all  important,  he  successfully  exerted  his 
influence  with  the  owners  and  editors  of  other  Irish  news- 
papers to  interest  them  in  the  work  of  the  Industrial  Associa- 
tions, and  he  gave  the  present  writer,  who  was  then  Secretary 
of  the  Cork  Association,  carte  blanche  to  publish  in  the  news- 
papers under  his  (Mr.  Crosbie's)  control  as  much  industrial 
matter  as  he  deemed  desirable.  It  is  but  the  merest  justice 
to  bear  testimony  to  Mr.  Crosbie's  invaluable  services  to 
this  movement,  and  the  opportunity  which  now  presents 
itself  of  doing  so  is  one  of  which  the  present  writer  gladly 
avails  himself. 


2.      THE    IRISH    NATIONAL   TRADE    MARK 


The  history  of  the  Irish  National  Trade  Mark  is  of  more 
than  passing  interest,  for  the  reasons  that  it  was  the  first 
national  trade  mark  instituted  by  any  country  in  the  world  ; 
that  it  continued  to  be  the  only  one  up  to  about  three  years 
ago  ;  and  that,  even  at  the  present  day,  although  numerous 


276   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

projects  for  the  establishment  of  national  trade  marks 
elsewhere  have  been  mooted  from  time  to  time,  France  is 
the  only  other  nation  that  has  succeeded  in  following  Ireland's 
lead. 

The  adoption  by  Ireland  of  its  national  trade  mark  arose 
in  this  manner.  Sir  Bertram  C.  A.  Windle,  the  distinguished 
ex-President  of  University  College,  Cork,  visited  the  present 
writer's  office  one  day  early  in  the  year  1905,  and  invited  him 
to  state  if  certain  articles  which  he  brought  with  him,  all 
of  which  had  been  guaranteed  as  being  of  Irish  manufacture, 
were  what  they  were  represented  to  be.  In  the  course  of  the 
interview  Sir  Bertram  Windle  expressed  the  opinion  that  if 
all  Irish  manufacturers  were  to  brand  their  manufactures 
with  a  single  distinctive  trade  mark,  the  non-expert  customer 
would  have  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  these  goods  as  being 
of  Irish  manufacture,  and  would  not  be  imposed  upon  by 
unscrupulous  traders  who  often,  successfully,  attempted  to 
pass-off  non-Irish  goods  as  Irish.  The  suggestion  was, 
obviously,  a  most  valuable  and  practical  one,  and  no  time  was 
lost  in  endeavouring  to  put  it  into  practice. 

The  first  All-Ireland  Industrial  Conference,  presided  over 
by  the  originator  of  this  suggestion,  was  held  in  Cork  on 
November  21  and  22,  1905.  On  the  first  day  of  the  Conference 
the  Earl  of  Dunraven  proposed,  Mr.  John  P.  Boland,  M.P., 
seconded,  a  number  of  Irish  manufacturers  and  others  sup- 
ported, and  the  Conference  unanimously  passed  a  resolution 
that  an  Irish  National  Trade  Mark  should  be  established. 
An  All-Ireland  Committee  was  there  and  then  appointed 
to  carry  through  this  project  and  to  register  themselves  as 
a  corporate  body — a  necessary  preliminary — to  administer 
and  control  the  proposed  Mark. 

An  Act  of  the  British  Parliament  had,  as  it  happened,  been 
passed  in  the  previous  session  permitting  a  body  of  individuals, 
such  as  the  Conference  had  appointed,  to  register  and 
administer  a  national  trade  mark  ;  but  the  Act  did  not 
become  operative  until  April,  1906. 

On  the  day  the  Act  came  into  force  the  Committee  lodged 
the  necessary  forms  with  the  Board  of  Trade,  applying  for 
the  registration  of  the  Irish  National  Trade  Mark ;  on 
July  31,  1906,  the  Board  of  Trade  registered  the  Committee 
as  a  corporate  body,  under  the  title  of  the  Irish  Industrial 
Development  Association  (Incorporated),  and  on  December  8, 


THE  IRISH  INDUSTRIAL  MOVEMENT     277 

of  that  year,  the  Association  received  the  Board  of  Trade's 
Certificate  of  Registration  of  the  Irish  National  Trade 
Mark.  In  the  meantime  they  had  received  a  consider- 
able number  of  applications  from  Irish  manufacturers  for 
licences  authorizing  them  to  brand  their  manufactures  with 
this  Mark.  The  first  applicant  for  a  licence,  Messrs.  Hicks, 
Bullick  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  of  Belfast,  had  sent  in  their  application 
more  than  six  months  before  the  Association  was  authorized 
by  the  Board  of  Trade  to  issue  licences,  and  that  firm  had 
the  distinction  of  having  allotted  to  them  the  register  number 
01.  The  Association  commenced  formally  issuing  licences 
from  January  i,  1907. 

Since  then,  about  seven  hundred  Irish  manufacturers  have 
been  authorized  by  the  Association  to  apply  the  Mark  to 
their  manufactures.  This  number  would  have  been  consider- 
ably greater  had  not  the  Association  instituted  strict  condi- 
tions governing  the  use  of  the  Mark.  In  no  case  will  they 
grant  a  licence  unless  satisfied  that  the  cost  of  Irish  labour 
in  the  manufacture  of  an  article,  to  which  it  is  proposed  to 
apply  the  Mark,  represents  more  than  50  per  cent  of  the 
total  cost  of  manfacturing  the  article.  They  deal  with  each 
application  upon  its  merits ;  and,  where  it  is  practicable 
for  the  manufacturer  to  use  only,  or  mainly,  Irish  raw 
materials  in  the  manufacture  of  an  article,  the  licence  is 
granted  subject  to  his  doing  so.  Licences  are  renewable 
annually,  and  the  Association  has  the  right  to  revise  and  alter 
their  conditions  governing  their  issue  at  any  time,  if  they  deem 
it  necessary  to  do  so.  In  the  event  of  a  user  of  the  Irish 
Trade  Mark  misapplying  the  Mark,  he  is  liable  to  prosecution 
and  to  be  deprived  for  all  time  of  the  right  to  use  the  Mark. 
It  is  evidence  of  the  scrupulous  manner  in  which  users  have 
conformed  to  the  regulations  governing  the  use  of  the  Mark 
that  in  the  thirteen  years  during  which  they  have  issued 
licences  the  Association  have  had  to  institute  proceedings 
only  on  three  or  four  occasions  against  users  and  to  cancel 
the  licences  issued  to  them. 

It  would  be  very  easy  for  me  to  give  the  reader  an 
abundance  of  data  showing  the  value  which  Irish  manu- 
facturers have  derived  from  applying  the  Mark  to  their 
manufactures,  but  being  faced  with  the  fact  that  I  am  directly 
interested  in  the  administration  of  the  Mark,  and  that,  there- 
fore, the  sceptical  reader  might,  justly,  prefer  the  evidence  of 


278   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

those  competent  to  give  a  more  detached  opinion,  I  shall 
content  myself  with  referring  him  to  the  references  made  to 
this  subject  in  the  Report  of  the  Tariff  Commission,  excerpts 
from  which  appear  earlier  in  this  chapter,  and  also  to  the 
excerpt  from  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  Times,  and 
which  will  be  found  embodied  herein  in  the  chapter  on  the 
Irish  Flour-Milling  Industry.  This  latter  article  was  unsigned, 
but  I  am  reliably  informed  that  it  was  written  by  a  leading 
Irish  flour  miller. 

The  Gaelic  inscription  which  is  embodied  in  the  Irish  Trade 
Mark,  translated  into  the  English  language,  reads,  Made  in 
Ireland. 

In  addition  to  owning  and  administering  the  Irish  Trade 
Mark,  the  Council  of  the  Association  have  full  power  to  insti- 
tute legal  proceedings  against  persons,  in  any  part  of  the  world, 
detected  falsely  applying  the  Irish  Trade  Mark  or  any  other 
Irish  design  or  title  to  goods  other  than  of  Irish  manufacture, 
or  detected  falsely  describing  or  guaranteeing  non-Irish  goods 
as  Irish.  Some  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  these  practices 
have  been  indulged  in  and  the  check  that  has  been  put  upon 
such  indulgences  by  the  activities  of  the  Association  may  be 
gleaned  from  a  perusal  of  the  list  of  legal  and  other  actions 
taken  by  the  Association  up  to  the  end  of  the  year  1919, 
particulars  of  which  will  be  found  in  Appendix  VI  (see  pp. 

308-315)- 

These  two  functions — the  administration  of  the  Irish  Trade 
Mark  and  the  institution  of  legal  proceedings — are  the  special 
prerogatives  of  the  Irish  Industrial  Development  Association 
(Incorporated),  as  distinct  from  the  local  Industrial  Develop- 
ment Associations,  but  the  Irish  Association's  functions  do 
not  end  with  these.  They  extend  to  the  utilization  of  every 
useful  means  of  fostering  and  extending  Irish  industries. 
Whilst  each  of  the  Associations  is  independent  of  the  others, 
thus  stimulating  local  initiative  and  friendly  competition, 
they  co-operate  with  each  other  whenever  the  need  for  so 
doing  arises,  and  they  work  together  on  the  most  friendly 
terms. 

The  reader  will  be  able  to  form  a  fair  idea  from  the  contents 
of  this  chapter  as  to  the  history  of  the  modern  Irish  industrial 
movement.  A  great  deal  more  might  be  written  on  the  sub- 
ject, all  of  which  would  go  to  prove  that  the  movement  has 
won  the  support  of  a  vast  number  of  Irish  men  and  women  of 


THE   IRISH  INDUSTRIAL  MOVEMENT      279 

different  shades  of  thought  upon  other  subjects  ;  that  it  has 
considerably  benefited  Irish  industry ;  that  in  some  of  its 
features  it  has  set  headlines  to  be  copied  by  other  countries  ; 
that  it  has  developed  on  sound  business  lines,  and  that  it  is 
now  a  firmly  established  vigorous  plant.  This  is  a  record  of 
which  Ireland  has  no  reason  to  feel  ashamed. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
CONCLUSION 

THE  foregoing  pages  represent  an  attempt  to  depict 
the  modern  history  and  present  position  of  certain 
manufactures  and  other  factors  which,  collectively, 
constitute  the  fabric  of  Ireland's  industrial  economy.  I 
have  tried  to  make  each  chapter  self-explanatory  and  self- 
contained.  I  shall  not,  therefore,  risk  wearying  the  reader 
by  gathering  together  and  analysing  the  various  threads  of 
the  narrative.  Instead,  I  shall  confine  my  concluding 
remarks  to  a  setting  forth  of  what  I  believe  to  be  the  main 
causes  responsible  for  the  arrested  development  of  Irish  trade 
and  industry. 

The  deeper  one  dips  into  the  economic  history  of  Ireland, 
and  the  more  intimately  one  becomes  acquainted  with  the 
present-day  influences  affecting  Irish  trade  and  industry, 
the  more  clearly  one  realizes  that  the  causes  operating  through- 
out to  prevent  the  free  play  of  Irish  genius  and  enterprise 
are,  in  the  main,  external.  No  evidence  is  to  be  found  of  an 
inherent  incapacity  in  Irishmen  which  prevents  them  from 
coping  with  and  surmounting  economic  difficulties.  Only 
when  their  feet  have  been  manacled  have  they  failed  to  keep 
pace  with  their  competitors. 

The  multitude  of  Controls  instituted  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment during  the  war  years  were,  with  few  exceptions,  used 
often  in  a  subtle  but  nevertheless  effective  manner  to  bring 
Irish  industries  to  a  standstill.  It  may  be  argued  that  they 
also  prevented  many  British  industries  from  pursuing  their 
regular  course.  True,  but  did  they  bring  these  latter 
industries  to  a  standstill  ?  On  the  contrary,  they  resulted 
in  switching  them  on  to  munition  or  other  war-work,  which 
they  were  able  to  procure  in  abundance  and  on  profitable 
terms.  In  many  cases  larger  numbers  of  British  workpeople 
were  employed  in  them  than  previously ;  the  workpeople 

280 


CONCLUSION  281 

received  higher  rates  of  pay,  and  the  employers  were  enabled 
to  amass  enormous  fortunes  for  themselves.  This  was  not 
the  case  with  Irish  industries.  The  brief  account  I  have 
given  in  Chapter  XI,  and  the  official  returns  of  Government 
contracts  placed  in  Ireland  during  the  war  years,  clearly 
demonstrate  the  distinction  that  was  made  between  British 
and  Irish  manufacturers.  Further,  whilst  most  of  the  Govern- 
ment controls  were  administered  by  men  directly  interested 
in  the  British  industries  concerned,  in  no  instance  did  a 
representative  of  an  Irish  industry  occupy  any  administra- 
tive position  of  the  kind.  Numerous  examples  might  be 
quoted  of  the  differentiation  made  by  the  Food  Control  in  the 
prices  paid  for  Irish  and  British  produce,  always  to  the 
detriment  of  the  Irish  producer. 

A  typical  example  of  the  treatment  meted  out  to  Irish 
manufacturers  by  a  British  Government  Department  will  help 
to  enlighten  the  reader  concerning  this  subject.  In  November, 
1916,  the  present  writer,  together  with  several  Irish  manufac- 
turers, waited  upon  a  leading  official  of  the  Trench  Warfare 
Branch  of  the  Ministry  of  Munitions,  in  London.  This 
branch  was  responsible  for  the  placing  of  orders  for  a  large 
variety  of  articles,  totalling  many  millions  of  pounds  sterling 
annually.  Up  to  that  period  the  Branch  had  placed  no  orders 
in  the  Southern  Area  of  Ireland.  The  result  of  the  interview 
was  as  follows  :  The  official  informed  us  that  they  did  not 
know  where  to  turn  to  procure  their  requirements  ;  that  he 
would  immediately  send  us  a  list  of  all  the  articles  they  were 
interested  in  procuring  ;  we  to  reply  giving  him  the  names 
and  addresses  of  Irish  manufacturers  competent  to  supply  as 
many  of  these  articles  as  could  be  made  in  Ireland  ;  he  would 
then,  without  further  delay,  despatch  an  expert  engineer  to 
Ireland  to  report  to  him  concerning  these  firms.  The  firms 
satisfactorily  reported  upon  were  to  be  given 'every  oppor- 
tunity to  undertake  Government  contracts.  We  returned  to 
Dublin  and  awaited  receipt  of  the  promised  list  of  require- 
ments. A  fortnight  passed,  but  no  list  reached  us  ;  we  wrote 
reminding  the  official  of  his  promise,  in  reply  we  received  a 
formal  acknowledgment  of  our  letter.  Another  few  weeks 
passed,  but  still  no  list  arrived.  Again  we  wrote,  and  this 
time  received  a  reply  stating  that  the  Department  had  placed 
contracts  for  the  full  amount  of  its  requirements,  and  would 
not  need  to  avail  itself  of  the  services  of  Irish  firms.  Realiz- 


282   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

ing  that  some  subtle  agency  was  responsible  for  the  action 
of  this  Branch,  we  requested  the  Dublin  Area  Office  of  the 
Ministry  of  Munitions  to  report  the  matter  to  the  director  of 
Area  Organization — one  of  the  chief  administrative  officials — 
in  London,  and  to  ask  him  for  an  explanation  of  this  transac- 
tion. The  Area  office  received  a  reply  stating  that  the  Trench 
Warfare  Department  had  informed  him  that  their  instructions 
were  not  to  place  contracts  in  the  Southern  Area  of  Ireland. 

Similar  treatment  was  meted  out  to  this  Area  by  the  Air 
Board.  At  a  time  when  the  British  Army  was,  admittedly, 
insufficiently  supplied  with  aeroplanes,  a  group  of  manufac- 
turers in  the  South  of  Iceland  undertook  to  capitalize  and 
equip  an  extensive  factory  in  Dublin,  and  to  produce,  on 
equal  terms  with  British  firms,  as  many  aeroplanes  as  the 
Air  Board  would  place  contracts  with  them  for.  Despite 
a  long-drawn-out  correspondence  and  agitation,  aided  by  a 
number  of  important  Irish  public  men,  the  only  response 
received  to  this  offer  was  that  the  Air  Board's  requirements 
were  fully  met. 

The  war  years  provided  a  searching  test  of  the  British 
Government's  interest  in  Irish  trade  and  industry.  Never 
before  were  they  so  hard  pressed  to  procure  supplies  of  all 
kinds  ;  the  very  existence  of  the  nation  depended  upon  their 
being  able  to  obtain  these  supplies  in  ever-increasing  quantity. 
Despite  this  fact,  the  industrial  resources  of  Ireland,  exist- 
ing and  potential,  were  left  untapped,  except  so  far  as  per- 
sistent agitation  on  the  part  of  organizations  in  Ireland 
caused  Government  Departments,  occasionally,  to  throw  them 
a  few  crumbs  in  the  form  of  small  contracts. 

To  pass  to  another  aspect  of  this  subject.  During  and  since 
the  war  the  Government  appointed  a  considerable  number  of 
Committees  to  inquire  into  and  report  on  a  variety  of  subjects 
connected  with  trade  and  industry.  In  very  few  cases  did 
they  appoint  even  one  representative  of  Irish  industrial 
interests  to  act  upon  any  of  these  committees. 

As  a  result  of  representations  made  by  them  to  Mr.  Asquith 
when  he  was  Prime  Minister,  the  All-Ireland  Munitions 
and  Government  Supplies  Committee  succeeded  in  getting 
their  Chairman  (Mr.  John  O'Neill)  appointed  a  member  of 
Lord  Balfour  of  Burleigh's  Committee  on  Commercial  and 
Industrial  Policy  after  the  War.  The  Committee  had  sat 
from  July  until  October,  1916,  without  any  representative  of 


CONCLUSION  283 

Ireland  being  appointed  a  member.  Simultaneously  with 
Mr.  O'Neill's  appointment,  a  second  Irish  representative 
was  appointed,  to  represent  Ulster;  and,  shortly  afterwards, 
at  the  request  of  the  late  Mr.  John  Redmond,  a  member  of 
the  then  Irish  Parliamentary  Party  was  added  to  the 
Committee.  This  latter  gentleman  went  on  a  mission  to 
the  U.S.A.  during  the  time  the  Committee  was  in  existence, 
and  so  ceased  to  take  part  in  its  proceedings.  Here  was  a 
committee  charged  with  the  duty  of  examining  into  and  advis- 
ing the  British  Government  on  the  commercial  and  industrial 
policy  to  be  adopted  after  the  war  ;  it  sat  for  over  a  year,  and 
took  evidence  from  a  considerable  number  of  representatives 
of  various  British  interests,  but  I  think  I  am  correct  in  stating 
that  it  did  not  invite  a  single  Irish  industrial  or  trade  organiza- 
tion to  supply  it  with  information  concerning  Irish  trade  and 
industrial  problems.  So  far  as  its  proceedings  were  concerned, 
it  totally  ignored  these  problems.  Mr.  O'Neill,  in  consequence 
of  this  action,  found  himself  unable  to  sign  the  Report1 
which  the  Committee  sent  to  the  Government,  and  instead 
handed  in  a  Memorandum,  which  is  embodied  in  the  document, 
giving  his  reasons  for  so  doing. 

This  instance  typifies  the  attitude  adopted  by  practically 
every  committee  appointed  by  the  Government  to  inquire 
into  matters  concerning  the  development  of  trade  and 
industry.  It  is  an  exceptional  case  where  one  of  these  com- 
mittees has  devoted  any  attention  whatsoever  to  Irish  trade 
and  industrial  problems. 

This  treatment  was  commented  upon  some  time  ago  by 
Mr.  W.  A.  S.  Hewins,  ex-Unionist  M.P.,  and  sometime 
Under-Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  who,  when  Director 
of  the  London  School  of  Economics,  wrote  as  follows  : — 2 

.  .  Ireland  is,  in  fact,  recognized  as  a  standing  exception  to 
the  economic  generalizations  which  we  so  freely  apply  to  England, 
and  when  we  discuss  the  probable  effects  of  a  change  in  British 
policy  we  rarely,  if  ever,  take  account  of  Ireland. 

The  next  group  of  authorities  whose  statements  I  shall  cite 

1  Cd.  9035.     Price  pd.,  1918. 

*  In  the  Preface  to  Dr.  A.  E.  Murray's  book— A  History  of  the  Com 
mercial  and  Financial  Relations  Between  England  and  Ireland  from  the 
Period  of  the  Restoration  ;   1903  :   page  8.     This  most  valuable  work  13 
now  out  of  print. 


284   MODERN   IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

consists,  as  the  reader  will  note,  of  gentlemen  holding  widely 
different  political  views. 

In  the  course  of  an  interview  l  given  by  Lord  French, 
Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  to  a  representative  of  the  (London) 
Daily  Express,  Lord  French  was  reported  as  stating  :  "  One 
cannot  spend  £20  without  having  Whitehall's  permission." 

Mr.  Arthur  Griffith,  the  Sinn  Fein  leader,  has  on  several 
occasions  published  a  signed  article2  from  which  the  following 
excerpts  are  taken  : — 

In  July,  1907,  the  Managing  Director  of  Kynoch's  wrote  to  me 
stating  that  the  chairman  of  that  company  had  read  something 
of  what  I  had  written  on  Irish  affairs,  particularly  on  industrial 
conditions  in  Ireland,  and  that  he  was  anxious  to  discuss  the 
matter  of  industrial  development  in  Ireland.  I  met  Mr.  Arthur 
Chamberlain,  chairman  of  Kynoch's,  and  Mr.  Cocking,  the 
manager,  by  arrangement  at  the  Shelbourne  Hotel  in  Dublin. 
We  had  three  interviews — at  each  of  which  I  was  accompanied 
by  a  friend  of  mine,  a  Dublin  man  of  business.  Mr.  Chamberlain 
opened  by  saying,  ...  as  chairman  of  Kynoch's,  he  had  caused 
that  firm  to  have  something  that  might  be  called  a  private 
Industrial  Survey  of  Ireland  made.  The  result  was  to  satisfy 
him  as  a  business  man  that  Ireland  was  one  of  the  richest  countries 
in  the  material  of  great  industries,  that  her  people  had  a  great 
natural  aptitude  for  commerce  and  manufacture,  and  that 
nothing  but  ignorance,  lack  of  capital,  or  repressive  government, 
stood  in  the  way  of  making  her  a  great  industrial  and  commercial 
State.  .  .  .  Mr.  Chamberlain  replied  that  ...  it  was  a  definite 
part  of  English  policy  to  prevent  any  serious  industrial  or  commer- 
cial development  in  Ireland.  .  .  .  Mr.  Chamberlain  replied 
by  detailing  the  history  of  the  Kynoch  branch  in  Arklow,  and  the 
efforts  made  by  the  Government  of  Mr.  Balfour  and  the  Govern- 
ment of  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Bannerman  to  force  the  firm  to 
shut  down  the  branch.  Finally,  to  compel  Kynoch's  to  leave 
Ireland,  Government  contracts  were  removed.  Mr.  Chamberlain 
described  a  somewhat  lively  interview  he  had  recently  had  with 
Mr.  Herbert  Gladstone,  now  Lord  Gladstone,  in  which  that 
Minister  told  him  definitely  that  if  the  Arklow  factory  were 
continued,  the  Government  would  see  that  as  little  Government 
work  as  possible  would  be  given  to  Kynoch's.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Government  offered  no  objection  to  Kynoch's  estab- 
lishing themselves  in  any  part  of  the  Empire  except  Ireland,  and 
the  fullest  support  was  offered  to  the  Kynoch  branch  in  South 
Africa. 

1  Daily  Express.     April  7,  1920. 

2  Nationality,  July  31,  1915,  and  February  23,  1918. 


CONCLUSION  285 

In  the  course  of  the  occupancy  of  Mr.  Edward  Shortt,  M.P., 
of  the  post  of  Chief  Secretary  for  Ireland,  a  couple  of  years  ago] 
he,  too,  learnt  something  of  the  extent  of  Ireland's  dormant 
industrial  resources,  and  he  had  plans  prepared  for  develop- 
ing some  of  these  potential  sources  of  national  wealth.  The 
result  of  his  labours  was  related  by  Mr.  Shortt  himself  to  a 
deputation  of  Irish  business  men,  at  which  interview  the 
present  writer  attended,  and  of  which  he  therefore  writes 
from  first-hand  knowledge.  Mr.  Shortt  informed  the  deputa- 
tion that,  despite  all  the  trouble  he  had  taken  to  do  something 
practical  in  the  way  of  utilizing  certain  Irish  industrial 
resources,  the  British  Treasury  had  vetoed  his  proposals.  He 
still  believed  that,  ultimately,  he  would  succeed  in  gaining  his 
point,  but  soon  afterwards  he  ceased  to  be  Chief  Secretary 
for  Ireland,  and  nothing  more  has  been  heard  of  the  proposals. 
On  a  previous  occasion  Mr.  Shortt  assured  another  delegation 
of  Irish  business  men  that,  if  they  wanted  to  get  anything 
from  a  British  Government  Department,  their  only  chance  of 
doing  so  was  to  make  themselves  utterly  obnoxious,  and  that 
unless  they  adopted  this  course  their  claims  would  receive  no 
attention. 

Not  so  many  years  ago  Sir  Horace  Plunkett,  when  Vice- 
President  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  Technical 
Instruction  for  Ireland,  realizing  the  possibility  of  developing 
a  fruit-bottling  and  vegetable-preserving  industry  at 
Drogheda,  in  Co.  Louth,  sanctioned  payment,  out  of  the  Depart- 
ment's funds,  of  a  small  sum  of  money  to  help  this  little 
industry  over  the  initial  period  during  which  its  workpeople 
were  acquiring  technical  training.  No  sooner  was  this  fact 
known  than  a  number  of  cross-channel  firms,  engaged  in  the 
fruit-preserving  industry,  brought  pressure  to  bear  on  the 
Government  in  England  to  compel  the  Department  to  dis- 
continue assisting  this  Irish  industry.  Despite  his  protesta- 
tions, the  Government  compelled  Sir  Horace  Plunkett  to 
withdraw  all  financial  aid  from  the  Irish  industry,  which, 
having  this  aid  withdrawn  at  a  critical  moment,  before  it  had 
its  workpeople  technically  trained,  was  unable  to  survive. 

During  the  war  years,  when  the  Government  were  utilizing 
every  resource  in  their  power  to  compel  farmers  to  extend 
tillage  operations  and  increase  the  home  production  of  crops, 
Messrs.  Henry  Ford  &  Co.,  of  Detroit,  U.S.A.,  decided  to  erect 
an  extensive  factory  in  Cork  for  the  manufacture  of  farm- 


286  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

tractors,  the  available  supplies  of  this  implement  being  inade- 
quate to  meet  agricultural  requirements.  Immediately  a 
chorus  of  protest  arose  in  the  pages  of  various  British 
Machinery,  etc.,  Trade  Journals,  against  the  Government 
giving  this  firm  any  facilities  for  proceeding  with  their  project 
of  establishing  an  industry  in  Ireland.  The  reader  will 
remember  that  at  that  time  the  Government  controlled  raw 
materials  and  shipping,  and  consequently  possessed  complete 
power  to  facilitate  or  retard  the  establishment  of  any  new 
industry.  Messrs.  Ford  purchased  a  considerable  tract  of 
land  in  the  City  of  Cork,  and  completed  the  preliminary 
arrangements  for  proceeding  with  the  scheme.  But  the  fact 
remains  to  be  stated  that  they  were  not  given  the  necessary 
shipping  and  other  facilities  to  enable  them  to  commence 
manufacturing.  It  is  only  recently,  in  the  early  part  of  1920, 
that  the  industry  has  been  able  to  get  properly  underweigh. 

Contracts  for  the  erection  of  large  numbers  of  military  huts, 
and  other  buildings,  required  in  Ireland  for  Government 
purposes  during  the  war  years,  were  given,  without 
competition,  to  English  firms,  despite  the  fact  that  numerous 
Irish  firms  were  prepared  to  compete  for  these  contracts. 
The  recent  Government  contract  for  the  building  of  a  railway 
connexion  between  the  Castlecomer  Collieries  in  Co.  Kilkenny 
and  the  G.S.  &  W.  Railway  was  likewise  handed  over  to  a 
London  firm,  no  Irish  contractor  being  allowed  to  tender 
for  the  work. 

During  the  period  in  which  the  Government  controlled 
supplies  of  flax,  discrimination  was  made  in  respect  to  the 
prices  paid  to  the  Irish  growers  (I  have  dealt  with  this  matter 
in  the  chapter  relating  to  the  Linen  Industry),  as  well  as  in  the 
quantities  allocated  to  British  and  Irish  spinners — in  both 
cases  to  the  detriment  of  Irish  industrial  interests. 

Early  this  year  (1920)  a  document  was  issued  in  London, 
for  private  circulation,  which  detailed  the  constitution  of  the 
projected  Butter  and  Cheese  Importers'  Association  of  Great 
Britain.  This  document  stated,  inter  alia,  that  the  objects 
of  the  Association  are  : 

To  carry  on  the  present  functions  of  the  Butter  and 
Cheese  Import  Committee  (a  Government  committee),  which 
shall  be  dissolved,  and  to  purchase  from  exporting  countries, 
and  distribute  within  Great  Britain,  supplies  of  butter  and  cheese. 
.  .  .  The  Association  shall  be  established  by  charter.  .  .  .  There 


CONCLUSION  287 

shall  be  no  representative  of  Irish  traders  in  the  Association  for  the 
time  being.  .  .  .  The  Board  of  Management  shall  consist  of — (i) 
the  seven  members  of  the  existing  Butter  and  Cheese  Import  Com- 
mittee ;  (2)  three  members  elected  by  the  General  Meeting  of 
members  of  the  Association  ;  (3)  two  or  three  members  represent- 
ing consumers,  nominated  by  the  Ministry  of  Food  or  other 
Government  Department ;  (4)  one  or  two  representatives  of 
the  Co-operative  movement ;  and  (5)  a  representative  of  each 
of  the  High  Commissioners  for  Australia,  New  Zealand  and 
Canada.  .  .  .  The  Association  is  to  have  the  sole  right  to  import 
butter  and  cheese  into  Great  Britain  from  foreign  countries, 
the  Dominions  and  Ireland,  and  to  distribute  them  to  the  British 
consumer  at  a  price  to  be  agreed  upon  from  time  to  time  with  the 
Ministry  of  Food  or  other  Government  Department. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  this  Committee 
proposes,  so  far  as  Ireland  is  concerned,  to  obtain  control  of 
all  Irish  butter  and  cheese  exported  to  Great  Britain,  and 
decrees  that  there  shall  be  no  representative  of  Irish  traders 
in  the  Association  for  the  time  being.  Up  to  the  time  of  writing 
the  organizers  of  the  project  have  not  come  out  into  the  open. 
They  probably  feel,  with  Pope,  that  the  better  course  is 
to  do  good  by  stealth. 

The  subject  of  Ireland  obtaining  control  of  her  own  Customs 
and  Excise,  and  having  the  right  to  decide  for  herself  what  her 
internal  and  external  economic  policy  shall  be,  has  received 
active  consideration  for  some  years  past.  This  is  not  a  party- 
political  question.  Representatives  of  practically  every 
political  party  in  Ireland  are  convinced  of  its  vital  importance. 
The  present  writer  has  in  his  possession  a  document,  signed 
by,  amongst  others,  a  number  of  most  prominent  Irish 
Unionist  manufacturers,  declaring  that : 

The  undersigned  wish  to  record  their  opinion  that  in  any  new 
scheme  for  the  self-government  of  Ireland  the  Irish  Parliament 
should  control  the  fixing  and  levying  of  Customs  duties,  on  the 
following  amongst  other  grounds  : — • 

That  without  such  power  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  Irish 
Parliament  to  manage  its  finances  satisfactorily,  or  to  ascertain 
and  secure  for  Ireland  her  true  and  full  revenue. 

That  control  of  Customs  duties  is  necessary  to  develop  the 
particular  resources  of  the  country,  and  to  meet  its  particular 
industrial  views. 

That  a  Customs  tariff  fixed  by  a  British  Parliament  in  which 
Ireland  would  have  a  reduced  representation,  or  none,  would 


288   MODERNj  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

be  unlikely  to  regard  the  special  financial  and  other  needs  of 
Ireland,  and  might  be  injurious  to  her  special  interests. 

That  no  scheme  which  deprived  Ireland  of  control  of  an  impor- 
tant field  of  revenue  would  be  accepted  by  the  bulk  of  the  Irish 
people,  or  have  any  finality. 

The  Home  Rule  Act,  of  1914,  withheld  such  control  from 
the  proposed  Irish  Parliament.  In  one  of  his  letters  to1  Sir 
Horace  Plunkett  during  the  time  the  Irish  Convention  was 
sitting,  the  Prime  Minister  (Mr.  Lloyd  George)  stated  : 

"  The  Government  feel  that  this  (the  question  of  Customs  and 
Excise)  is  a  matter  which  cannot  be  finally  settled  at  the  present 
time."  Two  years  later,  another  Bill  has  been  introduced 
into  Parliament,  to  rescind  the  1914  Home  Rule  Act,  which 
had  never  become  operative,  and,  so  the  title  of  the  Bill 
states,  to  provide  for  the  better  Government  of  Ireland.  In 
this,  the  latest  of  these  proposals,  the  control  of  Irish  Customs 
and  Excise  as  well  as  Irish  economic  policy  are  all  reserved  to 
the  British  Government. 

Vague  promises  are  held  out  from  time  to  time  by  British 
Ministers,  in  their  public  declarations,  that  at  some  unspecified 
time  Ireland  may  be  given  control  of  these  matters — matters 
which  are  vital  to  the  economic  growth  of  a  country — but 
in  private  conversation  these  same  gentlemen  do  not  hesitate 
to  assure  one  that,  so  long  as  the  reins  of  Government  remain 
in  their  hands,  Ireland  will  never  be  given  such  powers. 

The  foregoing  do  not  by  any  means  exhaust  the  catalogue 
of  instances  that  might  be  cited  as  proof  of  the  consistent 
British  policy  of  repressing  Irish  trade  and  industry. 

The  late  Lord  Dufferin  epitomized  the  subject  when  he 
wrote  :  2 

From  Queen  Elizabeth's  death  until  within  a  few  years  of  the 
Union  the  various  commercial  confraternities  of  Great  Britain 
never  for  a  moment  relaxed  their  relentless  grip  on  the  trades 
of  Ireland.  One  by  one  each  of  our  nascent  industries  was  either 
strangled  in  its  birth,  or  handed  over  gagged  and  bound  to  the 
jealous  custody  of  the  rival  interest  in  England,  until  at  last 
every  fountain  of  wealth  was  hermetically  sealed,  and  even  the 
traditions  of  commercial  enterprise  have  ceased  through 

1  Letter  addressed  from  10,  Downing  Street,  London,  on  February 
25,  1918.     See  Report  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Irish  Convention,  p.  20, 
(Cd.  9019.) 

2  Irish   Emigration   and  the    Tenure   of  Land  in    Ireland. 


CONCLUSION  289 

desuetude.  What  has  been  the  consequence  of  such  a  system, 
pursued  with  relentless  pertinacity  for  250  years  ?  This  :  that, 
debarred  from  every  other  trade  and  industry,  the  entire  nation 
flung  itself  back  upon  "  the  land,"  with  as  fatal  an  impulse  as 
when  a  river  whose  current  is  suddenly  impeded,  rolls  back  and 
drowns  the  valley  it  once  fertilized. 

But  I  may  be  told  this  frantic  clinging  of  the  Irish  to  the  land 
is  natural  to  their  genius,  and  not  a  result  of  commercial  restric- 
tions. History  supplies  the  perfect  refutation  of  such  a  theory. 
Though  the  hostile  tariff  of  England  comprehended  almost  every 
article  produced  in  Ireland,  one  single  exception  was  permitted. 
From  the  reign  of  William  III  the  linen  trade  of  Ireland  has  been 
free  ;  as  a  consequence,  at  this  day  Irish  linens  are  exported  to 
every  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  their  annual  value  nearly  equals 
half  the  rental  of  the  island. 

Many  attempts  were  made  by  the  rival  interests  hi  England 
to  deprive  us  of  this  boon,  and  in  1785  a  petition — signed  by 
117,000  persons — was  presented  by  Manchester,  praying  for  the 
prohibition  of  Irish  linens,  but  justice  and  reason  for  once 
prevailed,  and  the  one  surviving  industry  of  Ireland  was  spared . 
How  has  it  repaid  the  clemency  of  the  British  Parliament  ?  By 
dowering  the  crown  of  England  with  as  fair  a  cluster  of  flourishing 
towns  and  loyal  centres  of  industry  as  are  to  be  found  in  any 
portion  of  the  Empire.  Would  you  see  what  Ireland  might  have 
been,  go  to  Derry,  to  Belfast,  to  Lisburn,  and  by  the  exceptional 
prosperity  which  has  been  developed,  not  only  within  a  hundred 
towns  and  villages,  but  for  miles  and  miles  around  them,  you  may 
measure  the  extent  of  the  injury  we  have  sustained. 

Had  it  been  possible,  I  should  have  preferred  to  close  this 
work  without  referring  to  a  subject  of  a  quasi-political 
character.  But  it  is  impossible  to  treat  truthfully  of  the 
underlying  causes  preventing  Ireland  from  progressing 
economically  without  touching  upon  such  matters.  Person- 
ally, I  have  had  no  connexion  with  any  political  party  in  the 
eighteen  years  during  which  I  have  been  associated  with  the 
Irish  industrial  movement,  nor  have  I,  at  any  time,  distin- 
guished between  the  industrial  interests  of  various  localities 
in  Ireland. 

This  eighteen  years'  intimate  experience  in  dealing  with 
Irish  economic  problems  has  brought  me  into  touch  with  every 
aspect  of  the  subject,  and  has  dispelled  from  my  mind  any 
previous  beliefs  I  held  as  to  the  possibility  of  Ireland  growing 
to  full  industrial  maturity  under  existing  conditions.  There 
is  no  hope  whatsoever  of  her  doing  so  until  such  tune  as  she 

19 


290  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

is  free  to  determine  her  own  economic  policy.  I  have,  occa- 
sionally, discussed  this  subject  with  members  of  the  British 
Government,  and  cannot  recall  an  instance  where  these  gentle- 
men have  disputed  my  argument.  The  attitude  of  those  who 
hold  the  reins  of  government  of  this  country,  in  acquiescing 
in  the  truth  of  an  argument  such  as  this  and,  nevertheless, 
continuing  to  restrict  the  free-play  of  Irish  talent  in  the 
development  of  Ireland's  industrial  resources,  makes  one 
ponder  the  words  of  the  English  poet  who  wrote  : l 

"  All  fades  "— 

— and  with  the  word  the  moonlight  died  : 
From  out  the  pool  vanished  the  glimmering  wonder  : 
And  Odin's  soul  returned.     Amazed,  he  said  : 
"  Lo,  then,  a  subject  world  !  " — "  Nay  " — Wyrd  replied, 
"  Not  subject  lands,  O  Odin — sisters,  daughters  : 
Brethren  the  sons  by  all  the  Bri tains  bred." 
Long  mute  he  mused,  then  :   "  Will  the  Empire  stand  ?  " 
And,  with  the  hum,  like  voice  of  rushing  waters, 
Wyrd's  fateful  accents  mingled  :   "  Theirs  to  choose. 
If  greed  for  riches  overrun  the  land, 
If,  drunk  with  power,  they  rot  in  luxury, 
If,  slack  of  soul,  reverence  for  duty  lose 
And  rule  by  force,  they  too  will  pass  away  : 
If  rich  and  poor,  in  mutual  loyalty, 
Labour  as  willing  tools  of  the  Most  High, 
Weaving  about  the  world,  not  Caesar-sway, 
But  a  shining  net  of  folk — a  happy  land 
Of  brother-nations  linked  in  amity — 
A  mighty  brood  of  peoples  just  and  free — 
If  thus  they  choose,  their  power  benign  shall  stand." 

When  one  considers  the  full  significance  of  this  British 
policy  of  repressing  Irish  industry,  and  links  to  it  the  addi- 
tional menace  to  Irish  trade  and  industry  represented  by  the 
continually  increasing  number  of  British  trusts  and  combines, 
an  octopus-like  growth,  whose  claws  have  already  grasped 
control  of  several  important  Irish  industries  and  whose  plans 
are  matured  for  the  destruction  of  many  others — surely,  one 
is  justified  in  claiming  that  the  causes  responsible  for  the  past 
decline  and  present  backwardness  of  Irish  trade  and  industry 
are  not  internal  but  external. 

We  have  in  Ireland  all  the  resources  necessary  to  build  up  a 
thriving  community  ;  endless  proof  is  available  of  the  ability 

1  The  Song  of  Alfred.  By  H.  Orsmond  Anderton.  London: 
(Constable).  1912,  Canto  VI  :  pp.  196-197. 


CONCLUSION  291 

of  Irishmen  to  cope  successfully  with  economic  problems  ; 
our  workpeople  are  comparable  with  those  of  any  other  nation, 
both  in  regard  to  skill  and  intelligence  ;  all  that  we  lack  to 
enable  us  to  take  our  proper  place  among  the  prosperous 
nations  of  the  world  is  the  power  to  determine  our  own 
economic  policy.  Until  that  right  is  granted  us  it  is  unfair  to 
place  the  blame  for  her  present  industrial  condition  at  Ireland's 
door. 


APPENDIX   I 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  QUANTITY  OF  FISH  IMPORTED  INTO 
IRELAND   IN   THE   YEARS    1904   TO 


QUANTITY  CWTS. 

Year 

Herrings 
Fresh 

Herrings 
Cured 

Fish  Dried 

Fish 
Preserved 

1904 

6,702 

100,026 

53,266   (a) 

I9°5 

10,907 

79,093 

73,987 

1906 

7,517 

58,174 

76,009 

17,369 

1907 

18,395 

83,315 

67,567 

19,071 

1908 

26,709 

68,991 

68,597 

19,736 

1909 

26,8l2 

63,429 

79,648 

18,243 

1910 

19,292 

47,701 

74,966 

17,893 

1911 

23,828 

34,514 

68,515 

18,976 

1912 

14,713 

25,034 

77,414 

13,044 

1913 

17,067 

39405 

82,573 

16,190 

1914 

15,110 

48,828 

83,297 

27,473 

i9T5 

3,088 

21,665 

51/285 

30,928 

1916 

1-595 

9,883 

42,504 

37,759 

1917 

6,439 

51,245 

35,909 

25,889 

1918 

12,400 

66,437 

25,570 

19,562 

QUANTITY  CWTS. 

Year 

Fish  Fresh        unch2  |jfied 

Oysters 

Shell  Fish 
unclassified 

1904 

115,401  (a) 

I0,6l3 

1,458 

I9°5 

128,357 

7,265 

1,658 

1906 

105,978 

16,907 

7,8i6 

2,144 

1907 

103,462 

18,314 

4,840 

1,907 

1908 

116,869 

16,099 

5,245 

2,026 

1909 

134,016 

45,003 

4,433 

2,172 

1910 

154,304 

31,978              4,583 

2,324 

igil 

152,027 

30,889             10,943 

2,939 

1912 

138,064 

40,622 

4,864 

2,494 

19*3 

120,023 

'  34,758 

5,5i8 

2,461 

1914 

123,256 

32,399 

9,430 

1,620 

1915 

79,633 

17,047 

3,576 

676 

1916 

66,970 

12,419 

6,718 

4i3 

1917 

53,648 

13,207 

6,737 

452 

1918 

28,828 

4,155 

227 

1,669 

(a)     Not  recorded  separately  prior  to 
292 


APPENDIX 

APPENDIX  I— continued. 


293 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  VALUE  OF  FISH  IMPORTED  INTO  IRELAND 
IN  THE  YEARS  1904  TO  IQlS. 


VALUE       / 

Year 

Herrings 
Fresh 

Herrings 
Cured 

Fish  Dried 

Fish 
Preserved 

1904 

2,792 

75,020 

"~64585~(«r 

I9°5 

4,545 

59,320 

89,709 

1906 

3,132 

43,631 

76,009 

2I,o6o 

1907 

7,665 

62,486 

67,567 

23,124 

1908 

11,129 

51,743 

68,597 

23,930 

1909 

11,172 

47,572 

79,648 

22,120 

1910 

8,038 

35,776 

74,996 

21,695 

igil 

9,928 

25,886 

68,515 

23,008 

J9I2 

6,130 

18,776 

77,414 

I5,8l6 

19*3 

6,827 

15,762 

ii9,73i 

25,297 

1914 

6,422 

21,973 

124,946 

45,330 

i9J5 

2,625 

10,833 

92,313 

92,784 

1916 

i,595 

10,624 

81,820 

122,245 

1917 

7,o83 

40,996 

150,818 

84,139 

1918 

14,570 

53,150 

127,850 

88,029 

VALUE      £ 

Year 

Fish  Fresh 

Fish 
Unclassified 

Oysters 

Shell  Hsh 
unclassified 

1904 

105,784  (a) 

6,386 

1,696 

1905 

117,661 

4,359 

1,927 

1906 

92,287 

15,498 

4,690 

2,492 

1907 

90,098 

16,788 

2,904 

2,217 

1908 

101,773 

14,757 

3,147 

2,355 

1909 

116,706 

41,253 

2,660 

2,525 

1910 

134,373 

29,313 

2,750 

2,702 

1911 

132,39° 

28,315 

6,566 

3,417 

1912 

120,231 

37,237 

2,918 

2,899 

i9J3 

120,023 

31,862 

3,3ii 

2,861 

1914 

154,070 

32,399 

5,i87 

2,025 

19*5 

207,046 

40,060 

2,235 

845 

1916 

184,168 

29,806 

4,703 

5i6 

1917 

147,532 

33,018 

5,726 

678 

1918          89,367 

10,388 

193 

2,504 

(a)     Not  recorded  separately  prior  to  1906. 


294   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


APPENDIX  I.— continued. 

TABLE   SHOWING  THE  QUANTITY  OF  FISH  EXPORTED    FROM 
IRELAND  IN  THE  YEARS  1904  TO  1918. 


QUANTITY  CWTS. 

Year 

Herrings 
Fresh 

Herring? 
Cured 

Mackerel 
Fresh 

Mackerel 
Cured 

Mackerel 
unclassi- 

Salmon 
and 

Eels, 
Fresh- 

fied 

Trout. 

water 

1904 

48,516    36,277 

42,791 

66,157 

T50,3H 

16,593 

2,431 

I9°5 

28,508 

100,204 

57,36l 

33,H7 

62,774 

17,821 

2,874 

1906 

19,209 

113,248 

13,533 

20,091 

95,045 

18,723 

3,286 

1907 

17.234 

92,238 

11,105 

34,947 

78,308 

14,746 

9,898 

1908 

20,448  126,171 

30,843 

64,116 

46,334 

16,932 

9,452 

1909 
1910 

59,8741254,491 
100,771  205,047 

20,889 
16,478 

87,042 
112,720 

49,875 
53,527 

34,!28 
19,614 

8,785 
9,36l 

igil 

99,OI9i33i,493 

7,249 

76,774 

40,711 

26,039 

9-971 

1912 

89.635536,919 

9,877 

97,617 

46,534 

17,435 

6,005 

i9T3 

55,78i 

159,023 

H,I5I 

48,853 

44,501 

11,979 

2,840 

1914 

74,874 

85,250 

21,953 

81,386 

13,922!   24,200 

4,682 

1915 

165,050 

84,392 

27,661 

17,321 

73,574  25,058 

13,034 

1916 

154,805 

70,962 

37,849 

34.391 

73,7441  16,823 

5,880 

1917110,023 

49,025 

20,9IO 

80,268 

211,843,  15,741 

5,726 

igi8|  83,358 

20,906 

98,667 

68,664 

255J5I 

12,197 

3,950 

QUANTITY  CW  XS. 

TTicVi 

Shell  Fish 

Year 

i  ibn, 
unclassified 

Mussels 

Oysters 

Lobsters 

Winkles 

unclassi- 
fied 

1904 

71,392 

27,112 

3,242 

i,949 

6,658 

41,853 

1905 

42,913 

30,635 

15,377 

3,558 

5,78o 

50,588 

1906 

m,333 

25,938 

10,683 

3,i77 

5,835 

52,938 

1907 

74,314 

14,074 

7.958 

3,4i8 

9,297 

55,462 

1908 

53,589 

14,376 

8,856 

2,684 

12,243 

57,163 

1909 

68,442 

13,327 

8,309 

6,785 

12,064 

49,780 

1910 

7L582 

19.971 

8,412 

7,592 

11,093 

42,361 

1911 

56,444 

25,62O 

6,622 

5,744 

IO,026 

53,672 

1912 

58,896 

26,679 

9,056 

9,871 

7,747 

49,623 

19*3 

50,548 

20,650 

4,383 

13,938 

11,926 

42,832 

1914 

82,876 

15,784 

4,934 

9,640 

8,972 

42,807 

1915 

43,086 

15,326 

6,096 

6,081 

5,473 

46,596 

1916 

72,304 

14,378 

3,766 

4,777 

6,512 

39,438 

1917 

109,829 

29,413 

5,9io 

2,999     13,322 

33,858 

1918 

104,087 

36,484 

574 

3,377     13-270 

27,416 

295 


APPENDIX 

APPENDIX  I.—continu9d. 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  VALUE  OF  FISH  EXPORTED  FROM  IRELAND 
IN  THE  YEARS  1904  to 


Year 

Herring- 

Herrings 

Mackerel 

Mackerel 

Mackere 

Salmon 

Eels. 

Fresh 

Cured 

Fresh 

Cured 

unclassi 

and 

Fresh- 

fied 

Trout 

water 

1904 

24.258 

36,277 

19,256 

49,618 

90,187 

92,921 

8,508 

J905 

14,254 

100,204 

25,812 

24,838 

37,664 

99,798 

10,059 

1906 

9.605 

H3.248 

6.0QO 

15,068 

57,027 

104,849 

11,501 

1907 

8,617 

92,238 

4,997 

26,210 

46,985 

82,578 

34,643 

1908 

10,244 

126,171 

12,337 

48,087 

27,800 

94,819 

33.082 

1909 

29.937  254.491 

8,356:  65,282 

29,925 

191,117 

30,748 

1910 

50,386205,047 

6,591   78,904 

32,Il6 

109,838 

32,764 

1911 

49.5io;33i,493 

2,900  53,742 

24,427 

I45,8l8 

34,899 

1912 

44,8i8 

536,919 

3,951   68,332 

27,920 

97,636 

21,018 

1913 

25,101 

98,064 

4,879  26,869 

21,693 

72,673 

9,940 

1914 

37.437 

52,571 

io,977|  48,832 

6,961 

147,620 

15,217 

*9i5 

165,050 

88,612 

20,054 

16,455 

57,020 

144,08452,136 

1916 

178,026 

78,058 

35,957  34.391 

66,370 

Ii3,555!29,4oo 

1917 

137,529 

45,348 

26,138,  88,295 

243,619  121,993  34,356 

1918 

111,144 

19,338 

125,800  102,996 

350,8331182,685134,168 

VALUE    /. 

Year 

Fish, 
unclassified 

Mussels 

Oysters 

Lobsters 

Winkles 

-ihcll  IMS|I 
unclassi- 
fied. 

1904 

62,171 

3,050 

4,863 

7,796 

1,498 

9,417 

1905 

37,37° 

3,446 

23,066 

14,232 

1,300 

11,382 

1906 

96,952 

2,918 

16,025 

12,708 

1,313 

11,911 

1907 

64,7^ 

1,583 

11,937 

13,672 

2,092 

12,479 

1908 

46,667 

1,617 

13,284^ 

10,736 

2,755 

12,862 

1909 

59,602 

i,499 

12,464, 

27,140 

2,714 

11,201 

1910 

62,336 

2,247 

14,841 

26,572 

2,496 

9-531 

1911 

49,153 

2,882 

8,222 

20,IO4 

2,256 

12,076 

1912 

51,289 

3,001 

12,930 

34,549 

1,743 

II,l65 

I9X3 

44,019 

2,323 

7,426 

62,721 

2,683 

9,637 

1914 

74.588 

1,776 

5,690 

38,560 

2,019 

9,632 

19*5 

64,629 

2,107 

6,690 

28,885 

i,459 

I2,8l4 

1916 

108,456 

2,696 

4,259 

22,691 

1,737 

10,845 

1917 

247,II5 

6,986 

7.638 

14,995 

4,663 

11,850 

1918 

234,196 

9,121 

783 

16,885 

5-972 

14,303 

APPENDIX    II 
LIST    OF    IRISH  LINEN  TRADE    ORGANIZATIONS 

INDUSTRIAL    COUNCIL    OF    THE    IRISH    LINEN    TRADE 

The  Flax  Control  Board. 

The  Flax  Supplies  Committee. 

The  Flax  Society,  Ltd. 

Linen  Industry  Research  Association. 

Irish  Linen  Society. 

***** 

RAW  MATERIAL 

The  Flax  Supply  Association. 
Flax  Mill  Owners'  Association. 

***** 

SPINNING 

The  Flax  Spinners'  Association. 

***** 

WEAVING 

Power-Loom  Manufacturers'  Association. 
Cambric  Manufacturers'  Association. 
Coarse  Goods  Manufacturers'  Association. 
Damask  Association. 

296 


APPENDIX  297 

BLEACHING   AND   DYEING 


Yarn  Bleachers  and  Dyers'  Association. 
Bleachers  and  Finishers'  Association. 
Irish  Dyers  and  Finishers'  Association. 
Hydraulic  Mangle  Finishers'  Association. 


MAKING-UP 

Federation  of  Making-up  Trades,  (Ireland),  including : 
The  Irish  Wholesale  Clothing  Manufacturers'  Association. 
The  Belfast  Shirt  and  Collar  Manufacturers'  Association. 
Handkerchief  and  Embroidery  Association. 
Belfast  Apron,  Overall,  Blouse,  and  Underclothing  Manu- 
facturers' Association. 
Trade  Hemstitchers'  Association. 


SELLING 

Linen  Merchants'  Association. 
Cambric  Manufacturers'  Association  (Merchanting). 
Household  Linen  and  Piece  Goods  Association. 
Canvas,  Holland,  and  Buckram  Association. 
Handkerchief  and  Embroidery  Association  (Merchanting). 


APPENDIX    III 

TOTAL  OUTPUT  IN  TONS  OF  MINERALS  AND  TOTAL  NUMBER  OF 
PERSONS  EMPLOYED  AT  IRISH  MINES  AND  QUARRIES  IN 
EACH  OF  THE  FOLLOWING  YEARS. 


Year 

Antimony 
Ore 

jJanum 
(Com- 
pounds) 

Bauxite 

Bog  Ore 

Chalk 

Lllert 

Flint, 
etc. 

1909 

— 

2,5H 

9,500 

2,676 

— 

6 

1910 

— 

7.447 

3,792 

2,562 

— 

2,161 

1911 

— 

8,662 

6,007 

2,700 

— 

1,163 

1912 

— 

13,190 

5,79° 

3,340 

— 

1,129 

1913 

— 

13,289 

6,055 

3,835 

— 

1,222 

1914 

— 

13,384 

8,286 

2,342 

186,521 

1,063 

19*5 

— 

17,937 

n,723 

1,986 

162,928 

583 

1916 

— 

15,329 

10,329 

1,095 

161,466 

945 

1917 

— 

11,936 

14,724 

1,736 

153,024 

1,843 

1918 

I 

8,123 

9,589 

603 

155,313 

2,102 

Year 

Clays 

Coal 

Copper 
Ore 

Gravel 
and 
Sand 

Gypsum 

Igneous 
Rocks 

1909 

120,338 

89,392 

570 

83,249 

— 

325,194 

^1910 

132,400 

79,802 

1,446 

81,784 

— 

359,370 

1I9H 

124,460 

84,564 

820 

83,025 

— 

384,494 

yI9I2 

100,500 

90,307 

778 

70,654  |      — 

395,343 

Ti9i3 

121,294 

82,521 

167 

102,360 

— 

460,127 

1914 

111,472 

92,400 

— 

78,609 

— 

504,23° 

1915 

61,324 

84,557 

— 

99,718 

— 

421,826 

1916 

41,315 

89,833 

— 

60,487 

556 

281,845 

1917 

68,453 

95,646 

— 

82,525 

— 

302,002 

'-1918 

50,857 

92,001 

— 

110,249 

600 

336,575 

298 


APPENDIX 


299 


APPENDIX   111— continued. 

TOTAL  OUTPUT  IN  TONS  OF  MINERALS  AND  TOTAL  NUMBER  OF 
PERSONS  EMPLOYED  AT  IRISH  MINES  AND  QUARRIES  IN 
EACH  OF  THE  FOLLOWING  YEARS. 


Year 

Iron  Ore 

Iron 
Pyrites 

Lead 
Ore 

Lignite 

Limestone 

Manganese 
Ore 

1909 

68,002 

768 

— 

— 

568,046 

70 

1910 

65,037 

597 

— 

— 

585,954 

I9II 

56,448 

1,212 

— 

120 

562,223 

1912   1  60,398 

1,328 

— 

62 

528,107 

— 

I9J3 

60,014 

1,840 

— 

81 

582,851 

— 

1914 

41.215 

2,295 

— 

300 

426,030 

— 

i9J5 

39,326 

1,280 

— 

600 

343,174 

— 

1916 

30,678 

985 

I 

500 

303,577 

— 

1917 

54,533 

749 

4 

900 

310,926 

— 

1918 

30,548 

500 

19 

150 

262,400 

— 

Year 

uclire, 
Umber, 
etc. 

Salt 

Sand- 
stone 

Slate 

Soap- 
stone 

Zinc 
Ore 

iNO.  Ot 

Persom 
empl'yd 

1909 

196 

48,976 

36,008 

5,568 

— 

— 

4,974 

1910 

432 

48,585 

64,753  i  4,658 

— 

— 

5,3i9 

1911 

669 

47,532 

42,121 

4,588 

— 

5,469 

1912 

671 

50,871 

31,543  '  5,341 

8 

— 

5,i5i 

I9T3 

1,005 

43,391 

27,984  i  3,483 

40 

— 

4,862 

1914 

428 

42,005 

45,600 

3,017 

180 

— 

5,4i6 

19*5 

349 

32,961   i  46,937 

2,968 

750 

— 

4,432 

1916 

625 

34,433 

74,842 

2,984 

301 

— 

3,940 

1917 

i,73i 

35,95i 

61,816 

1,690 

1,233 

16 

4,063 

1918 

i,  066 

35,496 

83,986 

1,273 

936 

53 

.',.'».;'> 

APPENDIX   IV 


TABLE  I 

RESULTS  OF  THE   FIRST  SERIES  OF  COMMERCIAL  EXPERIMENTS 
IN  TOBACCO-GROWING  IN  IRELAND 

Showing  the  number  of  Experimenters  and  the  Acreage, 
Yield  and  Prices  of  the  finished  Tobacco  grown  in  each  of  the 
years  from  1904  to  1913  inclusive.  (This  Table  refers  to  the 
Large-scale  Experiments  only,  no  account  being  taken 
therein  of  experiments  conducted  under  the  Department's 
Small  Growers'  Scheme,  or  experiments  not  carried  out  under 
the  Department's  supervision). 


Year 

No.  of 
Growers 

Total 

Acreage 

acres 

Total 
Yield 

Ib. 

Average 
Yield 
per  acre 
Ib. 

Average 
Selling 
Price 
per  Ib. 

Range  of  Prices 

Lowest 

Highest 

d. 

d. 

s.     d. 

1904 

I 

20 

7,984 

400 

5-0 

4-2 

6 

1905 

15 

33 

27,860 

844 

4-7 

2-5 

9 

1906 

19 

76| 

66,893 

874 

4.8 

2.0 

I      O 

1907 

20  1 

88  * 

53.2451 

605 

4-3 

2.0 

9 

1908 

21 

101 

116,782 

1,156 

5-3 

1-5 

i    3 

1909 

21 

133 

120,285 

904 

5-4 

1.0 

i    3 

1910 

*9 

n8i 

93,229 

788 

4-9 

I.O 

8.8 

1911 

20 

"91 

I35,i8o 

1,131 

5-1 

I.O 

8 

1912 

20 

105 

72,101 

686 

4-3 

I.O 

8 

1913 

19 

9if 

83,922 

914 

5-3 

2.1 

8-5 

1  Particulars  of  the  Kilkenny  experiment  in  1907  are  not  included 
as  almost  the  entire  crop  grown  on  six  acres,  estimated  at  10,400  Ib.,  was 
accidentally  destroyed  by  fire. 

OQ 


APPENDIX 


301 


APPENDIX  TV— continued. 
TABLE  II 

RESULTS  OF  THE  SECOND  SERIES  OF  COMMERCIAL  EXPERIMENTS 
IN  TOBACCO-GROWING  IN  IRELAND. 

Showing  the  number  of  Experimenters  and  the  Acreage, 
Yield  and  Prices  of  the  finished  Tobacco  grown  in  each  of 
the  years  from  1910  to  1913  inclusive. 

(This  Table  refers  to  the  Small  Growers  (Rehandling) 
Experiments  only,  no  account  being  taken  therein  of  the 
Large-scale  Experiments  conducted  by  the  Department,  or 
Experiments  not  carried  out  under  the  Department's  super- 
vision.) 


Year 

No.  of 

Growers 

Total 
Acreage 

acres 

Total 
Yield 

Ib. 

Average 
Yield 
per  acre 
Ib. 

VVXTU-C 
Selling 
Price 
per  Ib. 

Range  oi  Selling 
Prices 

Lowest 

Highest 

1910 
1911 
1912 
19*3 

7 
17 
54 
44 

51 
14 
56 

52i 

4.653 
19,884 
42,063 
48,156 

906 
1,420 

751 
904 

d. 
4.0 
4.1 
3-7 
4-7 

d. 
2-3 

1.6 

1.6 
i-5 

d. 
5-2 
7.0 
6.0 

7.0 

302   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND   INDUSTRY 


APPENDIX  IV— continued. 
TABLE  III 

RESULTS  OF  THE  THIRD  SERIES  OF  COMMERCIAL  EXPERIMENTS 
IN  TOBACCO-GROWING  IN  IRELAND 

Showing  the  number  of  Experimenters  and  the  Acreage, 
Yield  and  Prices  of  the  finished  Tobacco  grown  in  each  of 
the  years  from  1914  to  1918  inclusive. 

(This  Table  refers  to  the  Development  Scheme  (Rehandling) 
Experiments  only,  no  account  being  taken  therein  of  experi- 
ments not  carried  out  under  the  Department's  supervision.) 


Year 

No.  of 

Growers 

Total 
Acreage 

Total 

Yield 

Average 
Yield 
per 

Average 
Selling 
Price 

Kange  of 
Selling  Prices 

ac.    rd.    p. 

Ibs. 

acre,  Ibs 

per  lb. 

Lowest 

Highest 

d. 

d. 

s.     d. 

1914 

136 

217  3  31 

211,435 

970 

54 

I 

I      O 

19*5 

138 

225  o  18 

142,990 

635 

6.9 

2 

Q\ 

1916 

118 

172  0   12 

68,400! 

6402 

6.8 

2 

2      6 

1917 

31 

45  3    o       28,133 

614 

10.3 

6 

I    IO 

1918 

63 

76  i  28 

58,859 

770 

II.  2 

5 

2       I 

1  The  produce  of  6j£  acres  which  was  destroyed  by  rire  at  Adare 
is  not  included  in  the  total  yield. 

2  The    average    in    this    column  is  calculated  on  the  quantity  of 
tobacco  sold  and  the  acreage  on  which  it  was  grown.     See  Note  1. 


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APPENDIX  VI 

Following  are  particulars  of  legal  and  other  actions  taken, 
up  to  the  end  of  the  year  1919,  by  the  Irish  Industrial  Develop- 
ment Association  (Incorporated),  of  102-103,  Graf  ton  Street, 
Dublin,  against  persons  detected  in  applying,  or  attempting 
to  apply,  Irish  origin  to  non-Irish  goods. 

PROSECUTIONS. 

The  chief  prosecutions  undertaken  by  the  Association  were 
the  following  : — 

1.  A  Belfast  firm;   for  selling  non-Irish  notepaper  as  Irish. 
Result :  Conviction  ;  fined  £5  and  £i  costs. 

2.  A  Dublin  firm  ;   for  selling  non-Irish  wrapping-paper  as 
Irish.     Result :  Defendants  pleaded  guilty  and  paid  ^15   153. 
costs. 

3.  A   Kentish  Town   (London)   firm  ;   for   selling  non-Irish 
cloths  as  Donegal  tweed.     Result :  Convicted  ;  fined  £20  and 
£20  55.  costs. 

4.  A   Lorfdon   firm ;  for   selling   French   crochet   as    Irish. 
Result :  Convicted  ;  fined  £20  and  ^5  53.  costs. 

5.  A  London  firm  ;   for  selling  cotton  handkerchiefs  as  Irish 
linen.      (Boxes  were    branded  with  the    Irish    Trade    Mark.) 
Result :  Convicted  ;  fined  £20  and  £20  costs. 

6.  A  number  of  stallholders  at  the  Shepherd's  Bush  Exhi- 
bition, London ;   for  selling  miscellaneous  non-Irish  articles  as 
Irish.     Result :   Convicted  ;  fined  £15  and  £5  53.  costs. 

7.  A  Manager  of  the  Dublin  Branch  of  a  Liverpool  firm  ;   for 
selling    English-made    candles    as    Irish.     Result :   Convicted  ; 
fined  £i  and  £10  costs. 

8.  A    Corofin    (Co.    Clare)    firm ;   for    selling    English-made 
calico  as  Irish.     Result :  Convicted  ;  fined  £i  and  £i  costs. 

9.  A  Dublin  firm  ;   for  selling  brown  paper  as  Irish.     Result : 
Owing  to  conflict  of  opinion  amongst  expert  witnesses  this  case 
was  dismissed  on  its  merits. 

10.  A  Belfast  firm  ;  for  applying  Irish  emblems,  etc.,  to  non- 
Irish  notepaper.     Result:   The   Court   being   equally   divided, 
no  decision  was  given.     The  defendants  having  given  an  under- 
taking during  the  course  of  the  trial  that  they  would  discontinue 
the  practice  in  question,  the  Association  did  not  apply  for  a  new 
trial. 

308 


APPENDIX  309 

u.  The  Manager  of  the  Dublin  Branch  of  an  English  firm ; 
for  selling  English  ties  as  Irish.  Result :  Convicted ;  fined 
£10  and  £10  costs. 

12.  The  Dublin  Branch  of  an  English  firm  ;   for  describing 
the  cloth  of  a  man's  suit  as  Irish,  and  refusing  to  refund  deposit. 
The  customer  having  discovered  that  the  cloth  in  question  was 
not  Irish,  refused  to  take  delivery  of  the  suit.     Result :   Decree 
obtained  for  the  refund  of  deposit,  together  with  costs. 

13.  A  Kildysart  (Co.  Clare)  firm  ;   for  selling  English-made 
towels  as  Irish.     The  firm  proved,  in  court,  that  they  had  ordered 
"  Irish  "  towels  from  the  wholesale  firm  who  supplied  the  goods. 
Result :   The   latter   firm   undertook    to   pay   the   Association 
£12  las.  costs,  and  the  former  gave  an  undertaking  to  refund 
£2  2S.  to  the  local  Board  of  Guardians. 

14.  Finding  that  a  trader  in  Waterford  was  advertising  and 
selling  Bristol-made  boots  as  "  Governey  of  Carlow's  Boots," 
we  instituted  legal  proceedings  against  him,  with  the  result  that 
he  was  convicted,  fined  £2,  and  we  were  given  ^10  costs. 

AMBIGUOUS  TITLES. 

Following  is  a  list  of  cases  where  the  offenders  gave  the  Associa- 
tion undertakings  to  discontinue  using  Irish  titles  or  designs  in 
respect  of  non-Irish  goods  : — 

15.  Yorkshire  firm  ("  Donegal  "  Tweeds). 

16.  English  Tobacco  Syndicate  ("  Irish  "  Home-grown  Plug). 

17.  Bradford  firm  ("  Irish"  Blankets). 

18.  North  of  Ireland  firm  ("  Ireland  "  to  English  cloths). 

19.  Dublin  firm  (Bicycle  Transfers  in  Gaelic  characters). 

20.  London  firm  ("  Irish  Rock  "  Sweets). 

21.  Manchester  firm  ("  Irish  Lace  Thread  "  altered  to  Thread 
for  Irish  Lace). 

22.  Scotch  firm  ("  Hibernian  "  Boots). 

23.  Manchester  firm  ("  Lismore  "  Caps). 

24.  Glasgow  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Cream  Powder). 

25.  Dublin  firm  ("  Irish  Majestic  Cycles  "). 

26.  Manchester   firm    ("  Harp  "   and   "  Shamrock  "    Sewing 
Cottons) . 

27.  Glasgow  firm  ("  St.  Patrick  "  Postcards). 

28.  London  firm  ("  Donegal  "  Knitting  Yarns). 

29.  Glasgow  firm    ("  Gaelic,"   together   with   a   picture   of 
O'Connell's  Statue,  Boot-laces). 

30.  Manchester   firm    ("  Killarney,"    with   Map   of   IreKin-i. 
Sheets  and  Pillow-cases). 

31.  Birmingham  firm  ("  Highbury  Donegal  TV, 

32.  Manchester  firm  ("  Hibernian  "  and  "  Pure  Super-Irish 
Wool  "  Blankets). 


310  MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

33.  Belfast  firm  (Irish  Titles  and  Emblems  to  Notepaper). 

34.  Bristol  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Brushes). 

35.  Manchester  firm  (All-wool  "  Irish  "  Blankets). 

36.  Co.  Cork  firm  (non-Irish  boots  branded  ambiguously). 

37.  Scotch  firm  ("  Olde  Irish  Vellum  "  Notepaper). 

38.  Leeds  firm   ("  Connaught,"   "  Shannon  "   and   "  Erin  " 
Cloths). 

39.  Gloucester  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Hairpins). 

40.  Bristol  firm  ("  Irish  "  Brushes). 

41.  Canadian  firm  (Irish  Trade  Mark  design  used  in  adver- 
tisements) . 

42.  Dublin  firm  ("  Irish  Mail  "  Mail-cars). 

43.  London  firm  ("  Ireland  "  on  Boxes  of  Disinfectants). 

44.  Liverpool  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Brand). 

45.  London  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Brand). 

46.  London  firm  ("  Tara  Hall  Irish  Toilet  "  Perfumes). 

47.  Liverpool  firm  ("  Dublin  Rock  "  Sweets). 

48.  Dublin  firm  ("  Erin-go-Bragh  "  Repair  Outfits). 

49.  York  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Chocolates). 

50.  Dublin  firm  ("  Faugh-a-Ballagh  "  Razors). 

51.  Bradford  firm  ("  Irish  "  Whippletrees  and  "  Shamrock  " 
Ploughs). 

52.  Waterford  firm   ("  Cycle  Manufacturers  "). 

53.  Dublin  firm  ("  Kynoch  of  Arklow  "  Racer  Cycles). 

54.  Northampton  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Boots). 

55.  Manchester  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Cloth  Polishers). 

56.  Leeds  firms  ("  Avoca  "  and  "  Wicklow  "  Cloths). 

57.  London  firm  ("  Faugh-a-Ballagh  "  Sweets). 

58.  Dublin  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Stylo  Pen). 

59.  London  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Combs). 

60.  Dublin  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  Watches). 

61.  Derby  firm  ("  Blarney  Castle  "  Paints). 

62.  Manchester  firm  ("  Gaelic  Make  "  Shirts). 

63.  Dublin  firm  ("  Dublin  "  Blue). 

64.  Manchester  firm  ("  Kerry  "  Overcoat). 

65.  Dublin  firm  ("  Leinster  Wax  "  Candles). 

66.  Belfast  firm  ("  Shamrock  "  and  "  Belfast  "  Incandescent 
Mantles) . 

67.  At  our  request  a  Dublin  firm  of  importers  secured  that 
imitation  Belleek-ware  jugs  sent  into  this    country  unbranded 
should,  in  future,  be  branded  with  the  country  of  origin. 

68.  Dublin  firm  ("  Acushla  "  Packets  of  Stationery). 

69.  London  firm  ("  Irish  Poplin  "  Notepaper). 

70.  London  firm  ("  Erin  "  Wax  Candles). 

71.  Brussels  firm  ("  Irish  Linen  "  Notepaper). 

72.  London  Agent  for  a  German  firm  and  one  of  their  Dublin 
wholesale  customers  ("  Irish  Wonder  "  Incandescent  Mantles). 


APPENDIX  311 

73.  New  York  firm  ("  Irish  Linette  "  Material). 

74.  Bristol  firm  undertook  to  discontinue  describing  bacon  as 
"  Our  Bacon  "  in  circulars  to  Irish  institutions,  the  bacon  in 
question  being  the  produce  of  foreign  hogs. 

75.  Newcastle-on-Tyne  firm  ("  Shamrock  "). 

76.  Belfast  firm  undertook  to  cease  using  the  words  "  Support 
Home  Industry  "  and  "  Sole  Proprietors,"  and  to  substitute 
the  words  "  Packed  by  "  in  respect  of  Cocoa  which  they  import 
in  bulk  and  merely  pack  in  Ireland. 

77.  The  Dublin  Agent  for  a  London  firm  of  paper-leaf  makers, 
who  contemplated  using  the  title  "  Shamrock  "  as  a  trade  mark 
for  this  article,  abandoned  this  project  when  the  Association 
intervened. 

78.  A  Northampton  firm  were  detected  by  us  in  selling  boots 
of  their  manufacture  which  were  branded  with  the  title  "  Ould 
Erin."     On  our  giving  them  the  option  of  discontinuing  this 
misleading  practice  or  fighting  the  matter  out  in  the  courts  they 
chose  the  former  alternative  and  notified  all  their  customers  to 
discontinue  selling  these  boots  until  they  had  erased  the  brand 
in  question  from  them. 

79.  An  Irish  firm  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of  branding 
both  Irish-made  and  imported  paper  with  the  title  "  Belfast 
Bond,"  gave  us  an  undertaking  to  confine  this  title  hi  future  to 
Irish-made  paper. 

80.  A  local  firm  forwarded  us  patterns  of  paper  which  had 
been  supplied  to  them,  for  re-sale,  as  Irish-made  paper.     On 
examination  this  paper  proved  to  be  of  cross-channel  manu- 
facture.    The  original  sellers  contended  that  an  innocent  mistake 
had  occurred,  took  back  the  paper  in  question,  and  substituted 
Irish-made  paper  in  its  stead. 

81.  A  Belfast  firm  gave  us  an  undertaking  to  discontinue 
applying  the  title  "  Shamrock  "  to  non-Irish  made  lamps  ;  and, 
further,  undertook  to  destroy  all  printed  matter,  etc.,  in  their 
possession  bearing  this  title. 

82 .  A  Birmingham  firm  gave  us  an  undertaking  to  discontinue 
advertising  and  describing  as  "  Irish  "  Dry  Ginger  Ale,  a  mineral 
water  made  by  them  in  England. 

83.  A  Dublin  firm  gave  us  an  undertaking  to  discontinue 
using  the  title  "  Shamrock"  in  connexion  with  non-Irish  table 

salt. 

84.  A  Bolton   (Lancashire)   firm   undertook  to  discontinue 
applying   the   title   "  Shamrock  "    to   tins   containing   baking- 
powder  of  non-Irish  manufacture. 

85.  We  drew  the  attention  of  the  Ministry  of  Food,  London, 
to  the  fact  that  South  African  Maize  Meal  was  being  sent  into 
Ireland  described  as  "  Galway  Meal."     The  Ministry  informed 
us  that  they  had  taken  the  necessary  action  to  prevent  a  repeti  ion, 


312   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

and  that  in  future  this  article  .would  be  described  as  "  South 
African  Straight  Run  Maize  Meal." 

86.  A  London  firm  gave  us  an  undertaking  to  cease  describ- 
ing as  "  Belfast  Linen  "  Notepaper,  paper  which  was  of  non- 
Irish  manufacture. 

87.  A  Dublin  firm  of  wholesale  stationers  gave  us  an  under- 
taking to  discontinue  using  the  title  "  Dublin  "  and  the  words 
"  Irish  manufacture  "  in  respect  of  writing  pads  made  of  imported 
paper  and  merely  put  together  in  this  country. 

88.  A  Dublin  company  undertook  to  discontinue  applying 
the  title  "  The  Dublin  "  to  non-Irish  manufactured  gas  mantles. 

89.  A  Liverpool  firm  were   stopped   by  us  from  continuing 
to  describe  an  English-produced  album  of  views  of  Dublin  as  the 
"  Shamrock  "  Album. 


TRADE  MARK  ACTIONS 

Amongst  the  legal  actions  taken  by  the  Association  to  prevent 
firms  from  registering  Irish  titles,  emblems,  or  designs  in  respect 
of  non-Irish  made  goods,  are  the  following,  viz  : — 

90.  A  Cardiff  firm  applied  to  the  Board  of  Trade  to  register 
the  title  "  Slainte  "  in  respect  of  non-Irish  milled  flour.     We 
opposed   this   application,    and,    after   the   usual   proceedings, 
succeeded  in  preventing  registration. 

91.  A  London  firm  applied  to  the  Board  of  Trade  to  register 
the  title  "  Shamrock  &  Co."  together  with  a  representation  of 
the  emblem  in  respect  of  non-Irish  postcards.     We  opposed  their 
application,  and  in  due  course  the  Board  of  Trade  refused  them 
registration.     They  then  appealed  the  case,  which  was  subse- 
quently heard    by  Lord    Justice  Warrington    in  the    London 
Chancery  Court.     We  fought  the  case  there  and  the  learned  Judge 
decided  in  our  favour.     He  also  decided  that  the  title  or  emblem 
"  Shamrock  "  on  an  article  was  indicative  of  Irish  origin.     As 
a  result  of  this  judgment  the  Board  of  Trade  have  since  made 
rules  (i)  refusing  to  register  this  mark  in  respect  of  non-Irish 
goods,  and  (2)  refusing  to  give  any  Irish  applicant  the  exclusive 
use  of  it  as  a  trade  mark. 

92.  A  Victoria   (Australia)   firm   applied   to   the  Common- 
wealth Trade  Mark  Office  to  procure  registration  of  the  title 
"  Deny,"   together  with  a    representation    of    the  Shamrock, 
in  respect  of  non-Irish  shirts  and  clothing.     We  opposed  this 
application,  and  in  due  course  succeeded  in  securing  its  rejection. 

93.  A  Glasgow  firm  applied  to  the  Trade  Mark  Office  to 
register  the  word  "  Colleen,"  and  an  Irish  design,  in  respect  of 
blouses,  etc.  made  in  Scotland.     We  filed  an  opposition,  and  after 


APPENDIX  313 

the  case  had  reached  a  certain  point  the  Glasgow  firm  abandoned 
their  application. 

94-  A  Belfast  firm  applied  to  the  same  office  to  register  the 
following  as  a  trade  mark,  viz.,  "  The  Erin  Household  Linen 
Company,  Franklin  Street,  Belfast."  We  asked  them  to  amend 
their  application  so  that  the  trade  mark  would  only  apply  to 
goods  made  in  Ireland,  of  Irish  linen.  This  they  declined  to 
do,  and  we  therefore  filed  an  opposition  to  their  application. 
Eventually  they  abandoned  their  attempt  to  register  this  trade 
mark. 

95--  We  also  opposed  an  application  made  to  the  Argentine 
Trade  Mark  Office  by  a  local  firm  to  register  a  mark  closely 
resembling  the  Irish  Trade  Mark.  The  applicants  thereupon 
discontinued  proceedings,  with  the  result  that  their  application 
fell  through. 

96.  Another  important  action  fought  by  us,  in  conjunction 
with  the  Irish  Flour  Millers'  Association,  was  an  opposition 
which  we  filed  to  an  application  made,  jointly,  by  a  Liverpool 
firm  of  flour  millers  and  a  Sligo  firm  of  flour  importers,  to  register 
a   design   which    included    a   representation    of   the   Arms   of 
Connaught    together    with     the    words     "  Connaught "     and 
"  Connaught's  Pride  "  in  Gaelic  characters,  in  respect  of  other 
than    Irish-milled    flour.     The    Comptroller    of    Trade    Marks 
decided  this  case  in  the  Association's  favour,  and  refused  to 
register  the  mark  in  the  name  of  the  applicants.     Thereupon 
the  latter  served  notice  of  appeal  to  the  London  Chancery  Court, 
but  when  we  served  notice  on  them  that  we  intended  applying 
to  cross-examine  them  when  the  appeal  case  was  being  tried, 
they  withdrew  the  action  and  paid  all  the  costs  of  the  two  actions. 

97.  Finding  that  an  Irish  firm  who  are  associated  with  a  firm 
in  England  had  applied  to   register   two    Irish  titles   as  trade 
marks,  we  requested  them  to  amend  their  applications  by  adding 
the  words,  "  All  such  goods  being  of  Irish  manufacture,"  thereby 
ensuring  that  at  no  time  in  the  future  could  these  marks  be 
applied  to  goods  other  than  of  Irish  manufacture.     After  some 
little  hesitation  they  amended  their  applications  in  the  manner 
required  by  us. 

98.  For  three  years  our  Annual  Reports  contained  references 
to  what  became  known  as  "  The  Barrett  Case,"  the  attempt 
by  a  Mr.  Denis  D.  Barrett,  of  Terra  Haute,  Indiana,  to  secure 
registration  of  the  Irish  Trade  Mark  in  the  United   States  of 
America  in  his  own  name  and  for  his  own  use.     In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  opposition  proceedings  instituted  by  us  proved 
successful,  both  in  the  Trade  Mark  Department  and  in  the  case 
of  Barrett's  appeal  to  the  U.S.  Commissioner  of  Patents,  he  put 
us  to  the  trouble  of  contesting  the  case  in  the  Court  of  Apj 

at  Washington,  where  in  November,  1913,  his  final  appeal 


314   MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 

considered.  Subsequently  the  Court  issued  their  judgment, 
signed  by  the  Chief  Justice.  They  ousted  Barrett's  action  as  one 
based  on  an  attempt  to  deceive,  as  well  as  on  other  grounds. 
This  judgment  finally  disposed  of  what  had  proved  an  exceedingly 
tedious,  troublesome,  and  expensive  piece  of  litigation.  The 
attempt  made  by  Barrett  to  pirate  the  Irish  Trade  Mark  failed, 
and  our  claim  to  the  exclusive  control  of  that  mark,  on  behalf  of 
genuine  Irish  manufacturers,  has  been  upheld  by  the  U.S.A. 
Court  of  Appeals.  Our  costs  in  this  series  of  actions  exceeded 
£1,000. 

99.  A  London  firm  applied  to  the  Trade  Mark  Office  to  register 
the  word  "  Shillelagh."     As  a  result  of  our  intervention  they 
amended  their  application  in  such  a  manner  as  to  confine  the  use 
of  this  title  to  Irish-made  goods  only. 

100.  A  Manchester  firm  applied  to  the  Trade  Mark  Office 
to  register,  as  a  trade  mark,  a  representation  of  a  "  Stage  Irish- 
man," together  with  the  word  "  Pat."     We  served  notice  on  them 
of  our  intention  to  oppose  this  application  if  they  persisted  in 
proceeding   with   it.     Finally,    they   decided    to   abandon   the 
application  and  cancelled  same. 

101.  An  Ohio,  U.S.A.,  firm  applied  to  the  Trade  Mark  Office 
at  Washington  to  register,  in  their  name,  a  design  which  included 
the  words  "  Irish  Washing  Soda,"  although  it  was  never  intended 
to  be  applied  to  an  Irish  product.     We  instructed  our  New 
York  solicitors  to  oppose  the  application,  and,  after  the  usual 
preliminary  procedure  had  been  disposed  of,  the  case  was  argued 
by  counsel  on  both  sides  before  the  Examiner  of  Interferences  at 
Washington.     This  official  subsequently  issued  his  judgment, 
refusing  permission  to  the  applicants  to  register  the  title  referred 
to.     They  (the  applicants)  appealed  from  this  decision  to  the 
Registrar  of  Trade  Marks,  but  when  the  case  came  on  for  hearing 
before  that  official  they  amended  their  application  by  eliminating 
the  word  "  Irish,"  thus  complying  with  the  Association's  demand. 

1 02.  A  Melbourne,  Australia,  firm  applied  to  the  Common- 
wealth Trade  Mark  Office  to  register  a  "  Shamrock  "  trade  mark 
in  respect  of  toilet  preparations,  including  soaps.     We  opposed 
this  application,  but  the  applicants  fought  the  case  until  just 
prior  to  the  time  when  it  should  come  before  the  Registrar  for 
verbal  argument  by  the  representatives  of  both  parties.     At  this 
stage    they    (the    applicants)    withdrew    their    application    to 
register. 

103.  A  Liverpool  firm  applied  to  the  Trade  Mark  Office  to 
register,  in  their  name,  the  title  "  Colleen  "  in  respect  of  non- 
Irish  milled  flour.     Our  Association  opposed  this  application, 
and   the   Irish   Flour  Millers'   Association  and  Messrs.   James 
Bannatyne  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  of  Limerick,  associated  themselves 
with  our  opposition.     When  the  matter  had  reached  a  certain 


APPENDIX  815 

stage  the  Liverpool  firm  withdrew  their  application  and  aban- 
doned their  effort  to  register  this  mark. 

104.  A  Birmingham  firm  applied  to  register  a  design,  as  a 
trade  mark,  representing  an  Irish  Colleen  looking  through  an 
Irish  Harp,  in  respect  of  earthenware  and  porcelain.     We  notified 
them  that  unless  they  withdrew  this  application  we  should 
oppose  it.     They  thereupon  withdrew  the  application. 

105.  A  Belfast  firm  applied  to  register  two  Irish  titles  as 
trade  marks  in  respect  of  soaps,  etc.     After  representation  by  us 
they  amended  their  applications  by  undertaking  to  confine  the 
use  of  these  titles  to  Irish-manufactured  goods. 

106.  A  Middlesboro'   firm  has  just  applied  to  the  Trade 
Mark  Office  to  register  the  title  "  Blarney  Stone  "  in  respect  of 
manufactured  tobacco.     We  have  notified  them  that  unless  they 
withdraw  this  application,  or  amend  it  so  as  to  confine  the  use 
of  the  proposed  mark  to  Irish-manufactured  tobacco,  we  shall 
oppose  it. 

107.  A  Belfast  firm  received  an  order  some  months  ago  to 
supply  a  quantity  of  roll  admission  tickets,  each  ticket  to  be 
branded  with  the  Irish  Trade  Mark.     Instead  of  passing  this  order 
over  to  an  Irish  printer  of  these  tickets,  who  is  an  authorised 
user  of  the  mark,  they  sent  it  to  a  firm  in  Hull  to  execute,  and 
supplied  the  latter  firm  with  block    of  the  Irish  Trade  Mark 
to  use  in  printing  the  tickets.     We  have  instituted  proceedings 
in  the  Dublin  Chancery  Court  against  the  Belfast  firm,  applying 
for  an  injunction  to  restrain  them  from  using  the  mark,  and  the 
case  will  be  tried  in  the  course  of  the  present  term. 


INDEX 


ABSENTEEISM  and  luxury  trades, 

35,  36 

increase  of,  41 

Act  of  Union,  10,  12-14,  29.  5° 
-  effect  on  the  demand  for 

silk  goods,  29 
Admiralty,  the,  196,  197 
Aerated   waters   industry,    164, 

270 
Aeronautical     supplies      (other 

than  linen)  contracts,  213 
Aeroplane  cloth,  value  of  orders 

for,  placed  by  Ministry  of 

Munitions,  114 
fabric,  contracts  for,  114, 

198 
Aeroplanes,  97,  282 

—  offer  to  produce   rejected 
by  the  Air  Board,  282 

Agriculture,  improvement  in,  60 

—  increased  resort  to,  36,  50 

—  main    Irish   industry,    270 
Agricultural   credit  in   Ireland, 

report  on  (quoted),  254, 257, 
260 

Organization   Society,  the 

Irish,  257 
Air  Board,  treatment  of  Irish 

manufacturers,  282 
Alcohol,  industrial,  161,  164 
Ale.     See  "  Beer  " 
Allies'  ploughed  land,  58 
All-Ireland    Industrial    Confer- 
ences, 1905,  122,  270 
Munitions     and     Govern- 
ment  Supplies  Committee, 
152,  201,  207,  211,  214,  282 
Aluminium.     See  "  Bauxite  " 
America,  emigration  to,  7 
America,  United  States  of — 
direct  service  with,  236 
flax  spinning  in,  122 
the  Civil  War,  107,  108,  126 
American  colonies,  unrest  in  the, 


Anthracite.     See  "  Coal  " 
Anti-combination  laws,  the,  46 
Antimony  ore,   143 
Antwerp,  shipping  service  with, 

236 
Apparel,  articles  included  under, 

140, 141 
Production  Returns,  1907, 

140,  141 

See  also  "  Clothing  "  and 

"  Shirt  and  Collar  Industry" 

Arable  land  ploughed,  57 
Ardara,  tweeds  sold  at,  130 
Argentine,  exports  to,  128 
Arigna  Mining  Company,  147 
Art  industries'  revival,  192 
Associated     Portland     Cement 

Manufacturers,    Ltd,     143, 

144 
Australia,  exports  to,  128 

wool  imported  from,  125 

Austria-Hungary,   121 
Austria,  ploughed  land  in,  58 

BACON     and      ham,      Amount 

received  by  farming  classes 

from,  in  1860,  79 

curing,  80 

curing  industry,  32,  79,  81 

exports  and  imports,  81,  82 

Bag  and  sack  making  industry, 

140 

Bakeries,  92 
Banbridge,  new  experiment  in 

the  linen  industry  tried,  26 
Bandon,  cotton  manufacture  in, 

20,  21,  23 

distress  of  weavers  in  1840, 

23 

muslin  industry,  20 

Banking,  comparison  with  the. 

Scotch  system,  41,  42 
Co-operative  Credit  Socie- 
ties, 256 
defects  of  the  system,  41 


3'7 


318    MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


Banking,  failures,  their  effect  on 
the  linen  industry,  9 

Joint  Stock  Companies 

amalgamations,  244-250 

Loan  Fund  Banks,  254- 

256,  258 

National  Land  Bank,  259, 

260 

of  to-day,  243 

Post  Office  Savings  Banks, 

250,  251 

Report  of  the  Depart- 
mental Committee  on 
Agricultural  Credit  in 


Ireland,  1914,  260 
-  Trustee     Savings 
252-254 


Banks, 


Barbour,  Wm.  &  Sons,  Ltd., 
largest  linen  thread  firm, 
118 

Barge-builders.  See  "  Ship- 
building " 

Barium,  150 

Barley  and  bere,  variations  in 
the  area  under,  61,  62 

for  malt,  sources  of  supply, 

158 

yield  of,  in  Italy,  France 

and  Ireland,  59 

Baronial  guarantees,  light  rail- 
ways constructed  under 
the,  217 

Barytes,  143 

Basket  work,  See  "  Household 
Requisites  " 

Battens.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts "  ;  "  Sawmill  Pro- 
ducts " 

Bauxite,  143,  150 

Beads,  194-5 

Beans,  64 

Bedding,  manufacture  of 
See  "  Household  Requis- 
ites " 

Bedspreads.  See  "  Linen  In- 
dustry, Articles  made 
up."  ' 

Beef,  59 

Beekeeping,  19 1 

Honey,  63,  65,  192 

Beer.     See  "  Brewing  " 

Beet,  59,  67 


Beet,  proportion  of  Irish  origin 
sold  off  British  farms  before 
the  war,  67 

Belfast,  and  Manchester  Steam 
Ship  Company  Ltd.,  234 

Area  (munitions),  Govern- 
ment   linen  contracts  with 
firms  in  the,  114 

as  a  port,  21-2 

Causes  of  its  growth,  45 

Cotton  manufactures,   21, 

22,  42,  43,  120 

Evening    Telegraph,    The. 

Support   of  the   Industrial 
Development  Associations, 
274 

importance  of  its  proxi- 
mity to  the  Scottish  indus- 
trial districts,  43 

Industrial  Development 

Association,  267,  272-274 

linen  industry,  24,  25,  44, 

107,  108,  119 

News- Letter,     The,     sup- 
port of  the  Industrial  Move- 
ment, 272 

Shipbuilding  industry,  33, 

97.  98,  19? 

the  Liverpool  of  Ireland,  2 1 

Belgium,  58,  71,  114 

Number    of    spindles    on 

flax  before  the  war,  121 

Bell-founding,  194 

Bere.     See   "Barley" 

Bibby,  John,  Sons  &  Co.'s 
orders  for  ships,  98 

Bicycles,  102 

Biscuit  making,  92-94 

Blacksmithing,  factories  and 
workshops,  105 

Blankets.  See  "  Woollen  In- 
dustry " 

Bleaching,  Dyeing  and  Printing 
Industry,  113,  147,  270 

Blouses.  See  "  Linen  Industry, 
Articles  Made  Up,  and 
Apparel." 

Blue,  Manufacture  of.  See 
"  Household  Requisites." 

Board  of  Trade,  246 

Boat  Repairing.  See  "  Ship- 
building." 


INDEX 


319 


Boiler-making,  102 

Bombs,  Pistol,  212 

Bonhams.     See  "  Pigs." 

Bookbinders,  their  evidence  be- 
fore the  Poor  Law  Com- 
mission, 35. 

Book-binding,   171,  172 

Book  production,  172,  175 

Boot  and  shoe  industry,  177, 
179,  180,  198,  270 

Bottles,  Glass,  166,  167 

Bottling,  census  of  production 
returns,  1907,  166 

Boxes,  Ammunition,  152,  155, 
206,  211,  212 

cardboard,  making  of,  174 

Brass  factories  (finished  goods), 
census  of  production  re- 
turns, 1907,  104 

Braziers,  Evidence  on  ab- 
senteeism, 35,  36 

Bread,  197 

See     "  Biscuit     Making," 

and        "Cocoa,       Confec- 
tionery, etc." 

Brewing  and  malting  industries, 
The,  ii,  13,  32,  72,  156-159, 
1 66,  270 

Brick  industry,  150,  151 

Bricklayers'  wages  in  Dublin 
and  London,  47 

British  and  Irish  Steam  Packet 
Company,  Ltd.,  The,  234 

Glass  Industries,  Ltd.,  166 

Portland  Cement  Co.,  Ltd., 

MS.  144 
Broadcloth.       See       "  Woollen 

industry." 
Brushes,   manufacture  of.     See 

"  Household  requisites." 
Building    Admiralty   contracts, 

197 

housing,  153 

materials.     See  "  Stones." 

plant,  contracts  for,  213 

trade,  the,  151,  152 

Bulgaria,  ploughed  land  in,  58 
Buncrana,    Admiralty   building 

contracts  at,  197 
Butter   and   Cheese   Importers' 
.  Association        of        Great 

Britain,  286,  287 


Butter,  cheese,  and   margarine, 

85 
Exports,    63-65,    67,    -j2, 

84,  85,  229 
industry,  the,  31,    68,  8.j 

85 

CALIFORNIA,  butter  exported 
to,  84 

Calves.     See   "  Cattle  " 

Cambric.     See    "  Linen  " 

Canada,  122,  128,  186 

Canals  and  inland  waterways, 
221,  225,  226,  227,  237 

Candles.     See  "  Soap  " 

Canvas.     See     "  Linen " 

Capital,  British,  14,  17 
—  Causes  preventing  its  ac- 
cumulation, 41 

Lack  of,  40 

Carbide  of  calcium,  143 

Carlingford  Lough  Oyster 
Fisheries,  78 

Carpet  industry,  139,  140 

Carpet-maker,  A,  on  the  effect 
of  withdrawing  the  pro- 
tecting duties,  35 

Carrick,  Tweed  sold  at,  131 

Carrick-on-Suir  woollen  manu- 
facture, 1 6 

Carrots,  64 

Cart  gear.  See  "  Saddlery," 
etc. 

Carts.     See  "  Timber  Products  " 

Casings.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts "  ;  "  Sawmill  Pro- 
ducts " 

Castlecomer  colleries,  147,  286 

Castlercagh,  Lord,  on  the  pro- 
gress of  Ireland,  10 

Catholics,  Degradation  of  the,  7 

Cattle,  bred,  recent  decrease,  06 

butchered  annually  in  Ire- 
land, 67 

exports  of  live,  31,  32,  34, 

67.  7*.  72,  231, 

foods,  89 

Importation  of,  into  En- 
gland prohibited  under 
Charles  11,3 

kept ;  recent    increase    in 

total,  66 


Cattle,  number  and  value  sold  or 
consumed  by  farmers,  year 
ending,  May  31,  1913, 

63.  75 

per  1,000  acres  in  different 

countries,  71 

sold  annually  off  farms,  67 

Celtic  Literary  Society,  The,  265 

Cement,  143,  144 

Census,  1911.  See  "Population" 

of  Production  Returns, 

1907,  81,  84,  85,  92-94, 
103-105,  112-114,  123,  127, 
128,  132,  138,  140,  141,  145, 
151-155,  158,  159,  162,  163, 
164,  166,  169,  171-175,  177- 
179,  188-190 

Chalk,  French.  See  "  Soap- 
stone  " 

Chamberlain,  Mr.  Arthur,  on 
Governmental  repression  of 
Irish  industry,  282 

Mr.  Austin,  and  tobacco 

growing,  184 

on  Irish  industrial  re- 
sources, 284 

Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
The,  on  the  progress  of 
Ireland  under  Grattan's 
Parliament,  10 

Channel  opened  by  the  Act  of 
Union,  1 4 

trade,  The,  12 

Charles  II,  Condition  of  Ireland 
on  the  accession  of,  2 

Economic  progress  in  the 

reign  of,  3 

Cheese  (and  see  "  Butter,"  etc.), 
86,  87 

Number  of  factories  mak- 
ing, 87 

Chemicals,  194 

Chichester  family,  The,  45,  46 

Chichester.     See  "  Da  vies  " 

China,  121,  128,  194 

Chocolate,  Admiralty  contracts, 
198 

Cider,  Manufacture  of,  164,  165 

Cigars  and  cigarettes.  See 
"  Tobacco  Industry  " 

City  of  Cork  Steam  Packet 
Company,  Ltd.,  234 


City  of  Dublin  Steam  Packet 
Company,  234 

Clarke,  Mr.  Harry,  his  work,  193 

Cloth,  Aeroplane.  See  "  Aero- 
plane Fabric  " 

Clothing  (and  see  "  Linen  mak- 
ing-up  Factories "  and 
"  Apparel  "),  13,  198,  270 

Coachbuilders,  35,  36 

Coal,  13,  49,  50,  120,  142,  144, 
147,  232,  233 

Cocoa,  confectionery  and  pre- 
serving factories,  93,  94 

Colbertisem  in  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  15,  37 

Collars.  See  "  Shirt  and  Collar 
Industry  " 

Colonial  trade,  Exclusion  of 
Ireland  from,  3 

Colonies,  American.  See 

"  American  Colonies  " 

Repeal  of  restrictions  on 

commerce  with  the,  9 

Combinations  of  workmen,  30, 

3L  46 

Comb-making,  Decline  of,  193 

Commercial  and  Industrial 
Policy  after  the  War,  Com- 
mittee on,  282,  283 

propositions,   1785,  12,  13 

restraints,  the  depression 

of  industry  by,  36 

Committees, ^Government.  See 
"  Government  Committees  " 

Commonwealth  Government, 
Irish,  policy  of,  2 

Concessions,  Partial,  to  .^  the 
demand  for  "  free  trade,"  9 

Confectionery.  See  "  Biscuit 
Making  "  and  "  Cocoa,  Con- 
fectionery," etc. 

Congested  Districts  Board, 
Statement  on  annual  value 
and  classes  of  yarn  pro- 
duced in  Donegal,  130,  131 

Constabulary — Suggestion  to 
offer  manufacture  of  their 
cloth  to  Irish  firms,  127 

Contracts,  Government.  See 
"  Government  Contracts  " 

Co-operative  Credit  Societies. 
See  "  Banking  " 


INDEX 


321 


Copper  and  brass  factories,  104 

ore,  150 

precipitate,  150 

pyrites,  148 

Cordage.         See     "  Rope     and 

Twine  Industry  " 
Cordials,  Fruit.      See  "  Aerated 

waters  " 

Cork,  Butter  Exchange,  Estab- 
lishment of,  84 
Co.,   Development  of  flax 

growing  in,   116 
Exhibition,  Guide  to.    See 

'  Maguire,  John  Francis" 

Glass  strike  in,  48 

Industries  at,   17,    19,   24, 

31'34.  79.  83,  92,  102,  107, 

136,  176,  178,  180,  183,  186, 

187,  189,  194,  198 
Industrial       Development 

Association,  265-267 
National     Shell     Factory, 

210,  211 
Steamship  Company,  Ltd., 

235 
Corn     Laws,     The,     effect     on 

Ireland,  50 

Cottage  industries,  270 
Cotton  goods,  120,  121 
industry,  The,  10,  n,  13, 

20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  42,  43, 

108,  117,  118,  120 
its     localization     in 

Belfast,  212 
manufacture  in  nineteenth 

century,  20,  21 

raw,  108,  198 

Cows.     See  "  Cattle  " 
Crawford,  Sir  W.,   108-110 
Creameries,   Co-operative,  their 

effect    on    the    butter   in- 
dustry, 84 
Crops,  63,  64 

Crosbie,  Mr.  George,  first  pre- 
sident   of    Cork    Industrial 

Association,  275 
Crowley,  Dr.  J.  F.,  134 
Cuffe,  Capt.  the  Hon.   Otway, 

his  tobacco  plantations  at 

Kilkenny,  184 
Cuffs.     See   "  Shirt   and   Collar 

Industry  " 


Cunningham,  Dr.,  4,  7,  n,  13, 
38.  50,  51 

Curtains,  a  branch  of  the  linen 
industry  (and  see  "  House- 
hold Requisites  ").  106 

Cushions,  Manufacture  of.  See 
"  Household  Requisites  " 

Customs  and  Excise,  287,  288 

Cutlers,  35 

Cutlery,  Manufacture  of.  See 
"  Household  Requisites  " 

Cycles.     See    "  Bicycles  " 

"  DAILY  EXPRESS,"  Extract 
from  Lord  French's  inter- 
view with  the,  284 

Davies  and  Chichester,  "  Settle- 
ment "  achieved  by,  after 
the  rebellion  of  1641,  2 

Deals.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts "  ;  "  Sawmill  Pro- 
ducts " 

Denmark,  Cattle,  sheep  and  pigs 
in,  71 

Ploughed  land  in,  58,  59 

Department  of  Agriculture  and 
Technical  Instruction,  59, 
60,  80,  116,  117,  149,  222 

Depot,  Receiving  and  testing. 
See  "  Government  Con- 
tracts "  ;  "  War  Office  " 

Depression,  Industrial.  See 
"  Industrial  Depression  " 

Derby,  Lord,  201 

Diaper.     See  "  Linen  " 

Diatomite,  147,  148 

Diorite.     See  "  Stones  " 

Disinfectants,  Manufacture  of. 
See  "  Chemicals  " 

Distempers,  Manufacture  of. 
See  "  Chemicals  " 

Distilling  industry,  The,  32,  33, 
72,  160-163,  166,  176,  270 

Distress  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, 7 

Distribution,  Attitude  of  the 
eighteenth  century  to  equit- 
able, 12 

Docks,  Powers  over,  237 

Dolls,  Manufacture  of,  194 

Donegal  Co.,  Potatoes  grown 
in,  62 


21 


322    MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


Donegal  linen'industry,  24,  26 

woollen  industry,  129,  130 

Doors.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts " 

Dowlas.     See   "  Linen  " 
Down,  Co.,  Distilleries  in,  162 

farming  industry,  25,  26 

goods,     Manufacture      of. 

See  "  Household  Re- 
quisites " 

linen  industry,  25,  28 

Potatoes  grown  in,  62 

Drink  imports  and  exports  (and 
see  "  Farm  Produce,"  etc.), 
18 

Drogheda,  Cotton  manufacture 
in,  21 

Fruit  preserving  industry 

repressed    in,    285 

linen  industry,  24,  27,  28, 

107,    108 

Power  looms  in  1910,  108 

Shipbuilding  in,  33 

Drugs,    Manufacture   of.        See 

"  Chemicals  " 

Dublin  Area  (munitions),  Dis- 
tricts covered  by,  213 

Cotton,  linen,  glass,  bottle, 

shipbuilding,  woollen,  silk, 
and  other  industries  in, 
16-21,  24,  28-30,  33,  34,  46, 
92,  100,  107,  108,  132,  164, 
166,  176,  180,  183,  186-189, 

193-195 
County,     Distilleries     and 

paper  mills  in,  162,  169 

Dockyard  Co.,  Ltd,  99 

Industrial       Development 

Association,    149,    267 
National     Fuse     Factory, 

208-211 
National     Shell     Factory, 

206,  211 

resolution  regarding  Inde- 
pendence passed  in  1799, 

10 

Shipbuilders,    Ltd.,    100 

Sufferings  among  workmen 

in,  in  1826,  18 
War  Office  Receiving  and 

Testing  Depot  in,  203 
Dubois  on  Free  Trade,  38 


Dufferin,  Lord,  on  British  re- 
pression of  Irish  industry, 
288 

on   Lord   Pirrie,   99 

Dundalk,  Industries  in,  102,  180, 

183 
Dundee,     Linen    manufactured 

in,  29 

Dun  Emer  Guild,  Ltd.,  139 
Dungannon  linen  industry,  26 
Dunraven,  The  Earl  of,  tobacco 

plantation,  184,  185,  276 
Duties  imposed  at  the  Restora- 
tion on   Irish  imports  into 
England,  3 

on  foreign  imports,  15,  16 

the     principal     factor     in 

Irish  industry,  36 
under  the  Union,    13,    15, 

35.  37-  50 

Dyeing.  See  "  Bleaching,  Dye- 
ing," etc. 

Vegetable  productions  used 

for,  1 6 

Dyes,   131 

EARTHENWARE.  See  "  Pottery  " 
Economic  policy,  290,  291 
Education,    agricultural,    Need 

for,  6 1 
Eggs,  63,  65 

value    of    exports.        See 

"  Poultry  " 

Elderberries  used  for  dyeing,  16 
Electrical  engineering,  102,  197 
Elizabethan  wars,  their  effect 

on  Ireland,   I 

Embroidery.  See  "  Linen  In- 
dustry " 

Emigration.         See     "  Popula- 
tion " 
Enamel      work.        See      "  Art 

Industries  " 

Enamels.        See    "  Chemicals  " 
Engineering,    102-105,    270 
Engines,     steam,     Manufacture 

of,  1 02 

England,  Cattle,  sheep  and  pigs 
in,  71 

Change  of  political  balance 

of  power  in,  at  the  Revolu- 
tion, 4 


INDEX 


328 


England,  Fear  of  war  between 
France  and,  a  motive  for 
hostility  to  Ireland,  5 

linen  industry,  29,  107,  108 

not  benefited  by  restrictive 

legislation  in  Ireland^  7 

Protection  of  industries 

in,  36 

woollen  industry,  6,  7,  13 

Europe,  Emigration  of  Irish 
woollen  weavers  to,  7 

Establishment  of  the  wool- 
len industry  in,  7 

Everard,  Col.  Sir  Nugent  T., 
Tobacco  growing  experi- 
ments by,  184,  185 

Exports,  annual  value,  1904-18, 
228,  230 

direct  to  foreign  coun- 
tries, 231 

Rise  in.  See  "  Foster, 

Speech  of  " 

FACTORIES  in  Belfast,  number 
of  weavers  in,  in  1840,  44 

Report  of  Inspector  of, 

on  the  woollen  industry  in 
1865,  126,  127 

Factory  system,  The,  25,  43,  44 

Famine,  1846-1848,  The  effects 
of,  32,  176 

Farm  produce,  food  and  drink 
imports  and  exports,  230 

Farmers,  63,  250 

Farming  as  a  supplementary 
industry  to  weaving,  25-27 

Feathers,  63-65 

Felspar,   148 

Fermanagh,  Linen  made  in,  24 

Ferries,  237 

Fertility  of  Ireland,  59 

Fertilizer  industry,  189 

Fish,  76-78,  292-295 

Fishing,  Inland,  77,  78 

nets.  See  "  Rope  and 

Twine  Industry  " 

Sea,  73-77 

Flannel.  See  "  Woollen  In- 
dustry " 

Flax,  25,  60,  63,  64,  112,  114- 
116,  119-122,  229,  286 

scutching,  114,  270 


Floorings.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts "  ;  "  Sawmill  Pro- 
ducts " 

Flour,  Admiralty  contracts  for, 
197 

imports,     Quantity     and 

value  of,  91 

milling,  88-92,  270 

Food,  Admiralty  contracts, 
1914-18,  197 

classes      produced,      191, 

192 

imports  and  exports,  1916- 

18.         See     "  Farm     Pro- 
duce," etc. 

production,  59 

Foods,  Cattle.  See  "  Cattle 
Foods  " 

Ford,  Henry  &  Sons,  Ltd., 
Cork,  102,  103,  267,  286 

Foster,  Speech  of,  against  the 
Act  of  Union,  10 

France,  Average  yield  per 
statute  acre  in,  59 

Fear  of  clandestine  exports 

of  wool  to,  13,  14 

Irish  wool  smuggled  to,  7 

Number   of   cattle,    sheep 

and  pigs  in,  71 

Number    of    spindles    on 

flax  before  the  war,   121 

Ploughed  land  in,  58 

Freedom,  Political.  "  See  Politi- 
cal Status  " 

Freestones.     See  "  Stones." 

Free  Trade,  its  effect  on  Ireland, 
37.  38 

Freights,  Additional,  paid  by 
Irish  compared  with  British 
firms,  164 

French,  Lord,  284 

Fruit  and  vegetable  preserving 
industry,  285 

Estimated  value  of,  con- 
sumed on  farms,  64 

preserved.       See  "  Biscuit 

Making  "    and        "  Cocoa, 
Confectionery  "  etc. 

Furness,  Withy  &  Co.,  Ltd., 
too,  267 

Furniture.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts " 


324    MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


Fuses,  209,  212 

No.  103,  106,  209,  212 

GAELIC  LEAGUE,  The,  265,  271 
Galway  National  Shell  Factory, 
209,  210,  211 

— —  Number  employed,  Novem- 
ber ii,  1918,  210,  211 

Geological  Survey  Branch  of 
Department  of  Agriculture, 
142,  M3 

George,  Mr.  Lloyd,  201,  202,  288 

Germany,  Number  of  cattle, 
sheep  and  pigs  in,  71 

Number    of    spindles    on 

flax  before  the  war,  121 

Percentage     of     ploughed 

land  in,  58 

Pickled  herrings  exported 

to,  77 

Glasgow  agitators  in  Dublin,  48 

— —  cotton  weavers  brought  to 
Limerick,  22 

Glass  industry, 8,  11,13,  33,  34,  48 

Gloves,  Knitted  and  kid,  194 

Goats,  Value  of,  sold  or  con- 
sumed by  farmers,  63,  65 

Gold  and  silver  work,  192 

Government  Committees,  282, 
283 

contracts,     114,     196-214, 

265-267,  281,  282,  303-307 

Control,   280-282 

of  Ireland,  The,  not  in  the 

interests  of  the  Irish  people, 
but  of  Great  Britain,  2 

The  British,  repression  of 

Irish  trade    and    industry, 
284 

Grain  milling.  See  "  Flour 
Milling  " 

Granite.     See    "  Stones  " 

Grass  seed  consumed  on  farms,  64 

Grattan's  parliament,  10-12,  16, 
36 

Great  Britain,  cotton  industry, 
109 

Effects  on,  of  Irish  indus- 
trial decay,  51 

Immigration       of       Irish 

labourers  to,  51 

Industrial  progress  of,  36 


Great  Britain,  Irish  woollen 
manufactures  exported  to, 
128 

linen  industry,  8,  106 

Power  of,  over  Ireland,  9 

Griffith,  Mr.  Arthur,  284 
Guinness,  Arthur,   Sons  &  Co., 
Ltd.,  Dublin,   159 

HABERDASHERY,  13 
Hair,    Curled.        See    "  House- 
hold  Requisites  " 
Ham  curing.      See  "  Bacon  " 
Handkerchiefs.        See      "  Linen 

Making-up  Factories  " 
Handles,     Brush    and     broom. 

See  "  Timber  Products  " 
Handloom  weavers,  Mr.  Otway's 

Report,  17,  18,  19,  23,  26, 

27,  28,  30,  40,  41,  45,  46 

— — The  Commission  on,46 

"  Hansard,"  February  23,  1920 

(quoted),   142 
Harbours,  237 
Harland,    Edward    James,    his 

history,  97-99 

&  Wolfe,  97,  98 

Harness.      See  "  Saddlery,"  etc. 

Hats,  Duty  on,  13 

Hatters,   Evidence  before  Poor 

Law  Commission,  35 
Hay,   Estimated    quantity    and 

value     of,     consumed     on 

farms,  64 

Hempen  goods,  120 
Henry,  Professor  R.M.,  statistics 

of  emigration  and  eviction, 

1846-60,    176 

Herrings,  pickled,  exports,  77 
Hewins,    Mr.   W.   A.    S.,    M.P., 

English    attitude    to    Irish 

economic  questions,   283 
Hides,     "  fallen  "     cattle     and 

horse,    number    and    value 

of,  sold  or  consumed,  63-65 
Holland,  Flax  imported  from,  114 
Flax,  number  of  spindles 

on,    121 

Irish  wool  smuggled  to,  7 

Number   of   cattle,    sheep 

and  pigs  in,  71 
Home  Rule  Act,  1914,  288 


INDEX 


325 


Honej'.        See    "  Bee-keeping  " 

Hops,  8,  13 

Horses,  63-65,  72 

Hosiery  industry,  39,  40,  136, 
137.  198 

not  suited  for   Admiralty 

contracts  during  the   war, 
198 
stockings,  duty  on,  13 

Household  articles,   linen.     See 
"  Linen    Making-up     Fac- 
tories " 

requisites,  class  of  products. 

193.    194 

Housing.     See  "  Building  " 

Hungary,  Number  of  cattle, 
sheep  and  pigs  in,  71 

percentage     of     ploughed 

land  in,  58 

Huskisson,  import  duties  re- 
duced by,  15 

ICE,  effect  on  fishing  industry, 

73 

Imperial  Tobacco  Company  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
Ltd.,  181 

Implement  factories.  See 

"Tool" 

Imports,  228-231 

Income  of  farmers.  See  "  Farm- 
ers" 

Independence,  Legislative.  See 
"  Legislative  Independence  " 

India,  121,  128 

Indian  corn  in  the  manufacture 
of  spirit,  162 

Industrial  depression,  7,  9] 

in  the  linen  and  'pro- 
vision trades,  1770-80,9 

movement,  The.  See  "  Irish 

Industrial  Movement  " 

revolution.  The,    12,  38-40 

Industry,  Attacks  on  Irish,  8 

Committees  enquiring  into, 

282 

Chief  classes  of,  270 

Decline  in,  36,  50,  270 

Effect  on.  of  the  rebellion 

of  1641,  2 

Encouragement  of,  by  the 

Stuarts.  2 


Industry,  Impediments  to,  280, 
290 

its  resources,  282 

Lord  Dufferin  on.  288 

289 

Possibilities  of,  271 

Progress  under  Grattan's 

Parliament,  10,  n 

repression  of,  280-291 

Want  of  support  for  native. 

266 

Inks,  Manufacture  of.  See 
"  Chemicals  " 

Inverforth,     Lord,      204.     205 

Ireland,  a  possible  ally  of 
France,  5 

Effect  of  James  II's  stand 

in,  4 

Right  to  legislate  for,  5 

Irish  Coal  Industry  Committee 
Report,  147 

Flax  Producers'  Associa- 
tion, The,  119 

Industrial  Development 

Association  (Incorporated), 
The  (and  see  also  "  Irish 
Industrial  Movement "), 
117,  169,  219,  276-278,  308- 

315 

Industrial  Movement,  The 

(and  see  also  "  Irish  In- 
dustrial Development  As- 
sociation "),  169,  265-279 

Linen    trade,    the    Select 

Committee  on  the.  39 

Poor     Law    Commission, 

1833-36.  The.  21.  30,  35-36. 
39-41.  46-48 

"  Irish  Times."  The.  on  housing, 

153 

Irish  Trade  Mark.  See  "  Trade 
Mark,  National  " 

Woollen  Manufacturers' 

Association,  The,  133 

Iron  and  Steel  factories,  103 

ore,  148,  150 

pyrites,  150 

Ironfounder.  An.  evidence  be- 
fore the  Poor  Law  Com- 
mission. 1836,  35.  40 

Italy,  average  yield  per  statute 
acre  in.  59 


326    MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


Italy,  number   of    cattle,  sheep 

and  pigs  in,  71 
— —  percentage     of     ploughed 

land  in,  58 
spindles  on  flax  and  hemp 

before  the  war,    121 

JAM.  See  "  Biscuit  Making  " 
and  "Cocoa,  confectionery," 
etc. 

James  I,  peace  declared  with 
Ireland  on  the  accession 
of,  i 

II,  aid  of  Irish  troops 

called  in  by,  4 

Japan  cotton  industry,  121 

flax  spinning  in,  122 

Jellies,  Fruit.  See  "  Biscuit 
Making  "  and  "  Cocoa 
Confectionery,"  etc. 

Jennets.     See   "  Mules,"    etc. 

Jewellery,  hand-made.  See 

"  Art  Industries  " 

Joinery.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts " 

Joint  Stock  Banks.  See 

"  Banking  " 

Jumpers.     See  "  Hosiery  " 

KANE,  Sir  Robert,  20,  29,  41, 

47.  48,  49 

Kerry.Linen  manufactured  in,  24 
Kildare,  Co.,  Distilleries  in,  162 
"  Kieselguhr."  See  "  Diatomite  " 
Kilkenny,  Industries  in,  16,  17, 

19, 132, 184 
Kilmainham,  Woollen  factories 

set  up  at,  17 
King's   County,    Distilleries  in, 

162 

Knitting.     See    "  Hosiery  " 
Kynoch's,    Messrs.,  attempt   to 

develop   works   in   Ireland, 

284 

LABOUR,  22,  39,  40 

Lace,     Insertion     of,    in    linen 

goods,    106 

Lagan,  Kavigation  of  the,  33 
Lambs.     See   "  Sheep  " 
Lancashire    operatives    in    the 

woollen   industry,    134 


Land  Purchase  Acts,  60 

system,  20,  40,  41,  45,  50 

Laundries,    123 

Laundry  work,  a  sub-section  of 
the  linen  trade,  106 

Lead  ore,  148,  150 

"Leader,  The,"  265 

Leather  industry.  See  "  Tan- 
ning Industry  "  and  "Boot 
and  Shoe  Industry " 

Legislation,  English,  2 

Legislative  Independence  of 
Ireland,  10 

Levy,  Sir  Maurice,  Bt.,  M.P., 
202,  203 

Lewis,    Sir    George    Cornewall, 

14.  5i 

Lignite  output,  150 
Limerick     cotton     and     other 
industries,    21-23,    34,    79, 
92,  136,  176,  178,  183,  187 
Limestone.     See  "  Stones  " 
Linen  Board,  The,  24 

industry,    2,    3,     6,    8-n, 

23-29,  40,  43,  44,  102,  106- 
109,  111-114,  116-122,  198, 
213,  270,  296 

industry-7- 

cambric,  24 

canvas,  25 

damask,  25,  116 

diaper,  24 

dowlas,  24 

d'oyleys,  116 

embroidery,  106 

sacking,  25 

sailcloth,    24 

serviettes,    1 1 6 

sheetings   (wide),   116 

tablecloths,  116 

thread,  118 

Unions,    117 

yarn,  25,  44,  107,  in,  120, 

looms,   106-108,   in 

machinery,   39,  40 

making-up  factories,  Re- 
turns, 1907,  113 

mills,    107 

spindles,  107,  108,  in,  121 

Thread  Co.,  Ltd.,  118 

waste    for   paper    making, 

etc.,  169 


INDEX 


327 


Linen   weavers,    (and   see    also 

"  Hand-loom      Weavers  "), 

25-28;  43,  44 
Jusburn  linen  industry,  24 
Liverpool,  Export  of  Irish  linen 

from,  in  1840,  25 
Petition    from    merchants 

of,  against  duties  on   Irish 

trade,  15 
Live    stock,    small    proportion 

consumed  on  the  farms,  63 
Loan         Fund         Banks.     See 

"  Banking  " 
Local   Government   Board,   the 

cost  of  the  houses  approved 

by.  153 

Londonderry,  County,  dis- 
tilleries, number  of,  in,  162 

County,  potatoes  grown 

in,  for  export,  62 

Linen  industry,  24,  28 

ship  repairs,  197 

Shirt  and  collar  industry, 

chief  seat  of  the,  122,  123 

Tobacco,  soap  and  candle 

factories  in,  183,  187 

Louth,  Classes  of  linen  made  in, 

24 
County,  potatoes  grown  in, 

for  export,  62 
Low    Countries,     The,    fear    of 

clandestine  exports  of  wool 

to,  13,  14 

Lurgan  linen  industry,  24,  26 
Luxemburg,       Percentage       of 

ploughed  land  in,  58 

MACCLESFIELD,     Extension     of 

the  silk  industry  in,  29 
Machinery,  agricultural,  102 

Bottle-making,     166 

Contracts  for,  213 

Industrial,   270 

Paper-making,  40 

Tea,  102 

Textile,  102 

Mackerel,  pickled,   77 

"  Made-in- Ireland    Movement," 

The.     See  "  Irish  Industrial 

Movement  " 
Magazines,  Waste.    See  "  Paper, 

Waste  " 


Magnesia.     See  "  Chemicals  "    1 

Maguire,  ,JJohn  Francis  — on 
brewing,  glass  and  leather 
industries,  32,  33,  34 

On  Scotch  and  Irish  bank 

ing  systems,  41,  42 

On    leather    and     whisky 

manufacture,  176 

Maize,  use  in  manufacture 
of  spirit,  162 

Malting.     See  "  Brewing  " 

Manchester  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, 15 

Irish  strikes  fomented  in, 

48 

silk  industry,  29,  30 

Mangels,  60,  62,  63 

Manufactures,  Imposition  of 
duties,  3 

Effect  of  the  Union  on,  14 

Imports  and  exports,  230 

Position  at  the  Union,  14 

See      also      "  Industry  "  ; 

"  Trade  " 

Want  of  support  for  native, 

266 

Manure,  artificial.  See  "  Fer- 
tilizers " 

Marble.     See  "  Stones  " 

Margarine  (and  see  'also 
"  Butter,"  etc.),  87,  88 

Marmalade.     See  "  Biscuit 

Making  "  and  "  Cocoa,  Con- 
fectionery "  etc. 

Match-boardings.  See  "  Timber 
Products  "  ;  "  Sawmill  Pro- 
ducts " 

Matches,  Manufacture  of.  S«t 
"  Household  Requisites  " 

Mathew,  Father,  32,  33 

Mattresses,  manufacture  of. 
See  "  Household  Requi- 
sites " 

Meat,  197 

Preserved,  83 

trade,  Dead,  107 

Meath,  Linen  made  in,  24 

Mediterranean,  '1  lie,  butter  ex- 
ported to,  84 

Migration  of  labourers  to  Great 

Britain,  51 
Milk.  63-65,  67 


328    MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


Milk,  Butter  and  separated,  sold 
or  consumed  by  farmers,  65 

Condensed,  191 

Quantity  and  value  of 

sold  and  consumed  by 
farmers,  63-5 

Mills,  Flax  spinning.  See 
"  Linen  Industry  " 

Paper.  See  "  Paper  Mak- 
ing Industry  " 

— —  Woollen.  See  "  Woollen 
Industry  " 

Minerals,  142,  150,  298,  299 

Mineral  waters.  See  "  Aerated 
Waters  " 

Mines,  298,  299.  (See  "Mine- 
rals "  under  headings  of 
various  materials  worked) 

Ministry  of  Munitions.  See 
"  Government  Contracts  " 

Act,  1919,  The,  223 

of  Reconstruction,  142 

of  Transport,  236-242 

Moore,  Mr.  Alfred  S.,  on  the 
linen  industry,  107-109 

Morrish,  Mr.  Guy  P.,  on  the 
shirt  and  collar  industry, 
122, 123 

Motor  boat  builders.  See 
"  Shipbuilding  " 

bodies.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts " 


cars,    102 

engineering,  102 

Mouldings.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts "  ;  "  Saw  Mill  Pro- 
ducts " 

Mountmellick  cotton  industry, 
20,  21 

Mules,  jennets  and  asses. 
Number  and  value  of,  sold 
or  consumed  by  farmers, 
year  ending,  May  31,  1913, 
63,  65 

Municipal  Technical  Institute, 
Belfast,  The,  119 

Munition  Factories,  National 
deliveries,  quantity  and 
value  to  March  7,  1919,  210, 
211 

Ministry  of.  See  "  Ministry 

of  Munitions  " 


Murray,  Miss,  on  the  effect  of 
Free  Trade,  38 

NATIONAL  Land  Bank.  See 
"  Banking  " 

Munition  Factories,  dis- 
posal of,  214 

Museum,  Dublin,  Exhibi- 
tion of  building  materials 
at,  149 

Naval  bases,  building  contracts 
at,  197 

Navigation  Acts,  effects  on 
Irish  trade  with  the 
Colonies,  3 

Navy,  The,  31 

Neagh,  Lough,  coal  boring 
operations,  142 

Needlework,  Art.  See  "  Art 
Industries  " 

Negro  clothing,  24 

Newenham,  on  the  progress  of 
Ireland,  10 

Newfoundland,  repeal  of  import 
duties  on  foreign  provisions, 

3i 

Newry  Glass  Factory,  34 

Newspapers,  Census  of  Produc- 
tion Returns,  1907,  173 

Newtownards,  Cotton  trade  at, 
in  1840,  22 

New  York,  bottled  stout  and 
whisky  exported  to,  166 

Non-alcoholic  beverages.  See 
"  Aerated  Waters  " 

North  of  Ireland  Shipbuilding 
Co.,  Ltd.,  99 

Northern  Whig,  The,  on  the 
Belfast  Industrial  Associa- 
tion, 273 

Norwich,  Export  of  wool  to, 
16 

Nose  Bulbs  (for  shell),  de- 
liveries by  private  firms, 
quantity  and  value  to 
March  7,  1919,  212 

OAK  Twigs  used  for  dyeing,  16 

Oatmeal,  95,  96 

Oats,  amount  produced,  59 

Area  under  in  1852,  1914, 

1918  and  1919,  61 


INDEX 


320 


Oats  as  substitute  for  maize,  etc., 

229 

average  yield,  59 

Exports  of,  in  1904,  1907, 

1914  and  after,  61 
Increased     average     yield 

per  acre,  1899-1917,  60 
Number  of  people  fed  by 

an  acre  of,  59 
Position     of     Ireland     as 

regards  yield,  60 

Quantities      allocated      to 

various  uses,  61 
Quantity    and    value    of, 

consumed  on  farms,  64 
Their  use  in  manufacture 

of  spirit,   162 

Time  required  to  grow,  59 

O'Callaghan,   E.   &  Sons,  Ltd., 

tanning  industry,  178 
Occupations  of  the  people.     See 

"  Population  " 
Ochre,  148,  150 
O'Connell,  Daniel,  48,  243 
Offals  for  pig-feeding,  91 
Oldham,  Professor  C.  H.,  author 

of  "  The  History  of  Belfast 

Shipbuilding  "  97,  99 
O'Neill,  Mr.  John,  211,  214,  282, 

283 

Organ-building,    195 
Ormond,  The  Duke  of,  3,  6 
Osnaburghs,  Irish  cloth  similar 

to,  made  in  Kerry  and  Cork, 

24 

Otway,  Mr.,  on  the — 
Land  system,  41 
Linen  industry,  26,  27,  28,  40 
Rate  of  wages,  46 
Silk  industry,  30 
Ulster's  progress,  45 
Woollen  industry,  17.  18,  19, 

4° 

Otway's  Report  on  the  Hand- 
loom  Weavers,  23 

Oxen.     See  "  Cattle  " 

PACKING  Cases.     See  "  Timber 

Products  " 
Paints,     Manufacture     of.     See 

"  Chemicals  " 
Paisley,  Cotton  weavers  from,  22 


Panic  of  1825,  The,  18,  30 
Paper  making — 

Industry,  The,   168-170 
Mills,    168-170 
Machinery,  40 

Waste,  enlargement  of  the 

trade,  169 

Parliament,  A  member  of,  on 
the  state  of  Ireland,  in  1795, 
10 

Grattan's.   See  "  Grattan's 

Parliament  " 
The  British,  and  Ireland, 

3-9 

The  Irish,  3,  7,  50 

The  Patriot,  3 

Parsnips,  Quantity  and  value 
of,  consumed  on  farms,  64 

Parson's  steam-turbine  engines, 
99 

Pastry.  See  "  Biscuit  Making  " 
and  "  Cocoa,  Confectionery, 
etc." 

Peace  after  the  Revolutionary 
War,  4 

Peas,  Quantity  and  value  of, 
consumed  on  farms,  64 

Peat,  Moss  Litter.  148 

Use  of,  instead  of  anthra- 
cite, 148 

Peel,  Sir  Robert.  Free  Trade 
policy,  31,  50 

Periscopes,  198 

Pharmaceutical  preparations. 
See  "  Chemicals  " 

Pierce.  Philip,  &  Co.,  102 

Piers,  237 

Pig  products,  72 

Pigs,  63-66.  69-71.  79-82 

(Bonhams),  births  of,  70 

Pipes,  tobacco.  See  "  Tobacco 
Pipes  " 

Pirates,  Seas  cleared  of.  2 

Pirrie,  Lord  (formerly  Mr.),  99, 
235 

Pitt,  William's,  Commercial 
Propositions,  12 

His  inconsistency.  13 

His  false  prophecies,  145 

Planks.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts "  ;  "  Sawmill  Pro- 
ducts " 


330    MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


Ploughed  land — 

Decline  in  the  area  of,  57 
Percentage  of,  in  Ireland,  59 
Plugs  (fuse-hole),  212 
Plunkett,    Sir   Horace,   founder 

of    the    Irish    Co-operative 

Movement,  256,  285,  288 
Policy,       Commercial,       Great 

Britain's,   15 
Polishes,   Manufacture  of.     See 

"  Household  Requisites  " 
Political  status,   and  economic 

progress  in  Ireland,  6,  9 
Poor    Law     Commission,     The 

Irish.     See     "  Irish     Poor 

Law  Commission  " 

The  Irish,  14 

Poplin  industry,  137-138 
Number   of  looms  at  cer- 
tain periods  since  1845,  138 
Population,    Decrease    in,    261, 

263,  270 

Emigration  figures,   263 

Increase   and    decrease    in 

Provinces,  262 
Occupation   figures,    1911, 

262 
• of  England  and  Wales,  and 

Scotland,   increase   in,    263 

1821-1911,  261 

Pork,  large  exports  from  Cork, 

3i 

Producing  season  for,  70 

Salt,  198 

Porter.     See  "  Stout  " 

Portlaw,     Cotton    manufacture 
at,  223 

Portugal,  Butter  exported  to,  84 

Percentage    of     ploughed 

land  in,  58 

Post  Office — 

Contracts.       See      "  Govern- 
ment Contracts  " 
Savings   Bank.     See   "  Bank- 
ing " 

Potatoes,  Average  yield  per  acre, 
59,  60,  69 

Effect   of   crop   variations 

on  the  pig  population,  69 

Exports,  62 

Exports  of,  in  1904,   1914 

and  after,  62 


Potatoes,  Number  of  people  fed 

by  an  acre  of,  59 
Quantity    and     value     of, 

consumed  on  farms,  64 
Recent   increased   produc- 
tion, 229 

Time  required  to  grow,  59 

Variations     in     the     area 

under,  62 
Pottery    manufacture,     13,    34, 

194 

Poultry  and  eggs,  Exports,  72 
Exports.      See     "  Poultry 

and  Eggs  " 
Number     and     value     of, 

sold  or  consumed  by  farmers, 

63-65 

Numbers        at        certain 

periods,  72 
Recent  increase  in,  72 


Powders,  boot,  floor,  etc.,  manu- 
facture of.  See  "  House- 
hold Requisites  " 

Press,  The,  271-275 

Prices,  Wholesale,  247 

Printing  and   allied   industries, 


-  of     linen.     See     "  Bleach- 
ing "  etc. 

Privy     Council,     The     English, 

treatment  of  the  Irish  pro- 

vision trade,  9 
Produce,     high      rate     of,     in 

Ireland,  59 
Production,     Attitude     of     the 

eighteenth  century  to,  12 
Progress,  Economic,  6,  9,  10,  n 
Property,  Insecurity  of,  after 

the  Union,  14 
Prosperity       under       Grattan's 

Parliament,  10 
Protestants,      Monopolise      the 

woollen   industry,    7 

-  The  Irish,  Degradation  of, 

7 

Provision  trade,  3,  8,  9,  n,  31 
Purser,     Miss,     Work    for    the 

stained  glass  industry,  192- 

193 

Pyrites,  Copper.     See  "  Copper 
Pyrites  " 

-  Iron.     See  "  Iron  Pyrites  " 


INDEX 


331 


QUARRIES.     See  "  Road  Making 
Materials  " 

Queenstown,     Admiralty     con- 
tracts at,  197 

Dry     Dock     Shipbuilding 

and  Engineering  Co.,  Ltd., 
The,  99,  100 

Harbour,    Government 

ship-repairing  yard  in,  100 

RAILWAY  and  Canal  Act,  1888, 

The,    221 
Commission,  The,  220,  221, 

222 

engineering,  102 

Railways,   Dates  of  opening  of 

the  first,  216 
Failure  to  assist  industry, 

219 
Government     control     of, 

219, 222, 223,  224 

Light,  217,  237 

Mileage    covered    by    the 

principal,  217 

Number  of  companies,  217 

Rates  and  fares,  increases, 

224 
Rates  higher  than  almost 

all  other  nations,  224 

Their  progress,  218 

Their      uncertain     future, 


222 

Raw   materials — 

Dependence  on  outside  coun- 
tries for,  224 
Imports  and  exports,  230 

Rebellion  of  1641,  2 

Receiving  and  Testing  Dep6t. 
See  "  Government  Con- 
tracts, War  Office  " 

Restoration,  Customs  duties 
imposed  at  the,  3 

Hostility    of    the    English 

Parliament  to    Irish    trade 
after  the,  4 

Restraints  on  trade,  3,  9 

Revolution,  The,  3-7 

Revolutionary  War,  Damage 
caused  by,  4 

Road-making  materials,  Quar- 
ries engaged  on,  148 

Roads,  237 


Robes.     See   "  Linen   Industry. 

Articles  made  up  " 
Rolled  Oats.     See  "  Oatmeal  " 
Rope  and  twine  industry.     See 

also  "  Linen  Industry  " 
Roumania,        percentage        of 

ploughed  land  in,  58 
Rural  Life,  271 

Russia,  Flax,  imported  from,  114 
,   number  of  spindles 

on,  i  .2 1 

,  proportion  of  Euro- 
pean, grown  in,  114 
Percentage     of     ploughed 

land  in  European,  58 
Pickled  herrings  exported 

to,  77 
Rye,  Average  yield  of,  in  Italy, 

France  and  Ireland,  59 
Position     of     Ireland     as 

regards  yield  of,  60 

SACKING.  See  "  Linen  Industry  " 

Saddlery,  Harness  and  Cart-gear 
Industry,  178,  179 

Sailcloth.  See  "  Linen  Industry" 

Salt,  Duties  on,  13 

Import  duty  on,  31 

Mines  and  factories,  148 

Rock,  decennial  output, 

150 

Sandstones.     See  "  Stones  " 

Sawmill  Products.  See  "  Timber 
Products  " 

Schwabe,  G.  C.,  98 

Scotland,  Linen  industry  in,  8, 
29,  107,  108 

Number  of  cattle,  sheep 

and  pigs  in,  71 

Population,  increase,  1891- 

1911,  263 

Woollen  industry,  134 

Scutching.  See  "  Flax  Scutch- 
ing " 

Serbia.  Percentage  of  ploughed 
land  in,  58 

Serviettes.  See  "  Linen  Indus- 
try " 

Shaw,  Sir  Alec,  On  efforts  to 
improve  pigs  for  bacon,  79. 
80 

Shawls.    See"  Cotton  Industry " 


332    MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


Sheep,  Average  annual  exports, 

(and          See         "  Sheep," 

"  Lambs  "    and    "  Wool  ") 

69,  71 
Decline  in  during,  the  last 

30  years,   66 
Exported   and   consumed, 

69 
Lambs  and  wool.  Exports, 

value,  72 
(Lambs)  season  of  greatest 

production,  70 
Number     and     value     of, 

sold      or      consumed      by 

farmers,  63-65 
Number        in        different 


countries,   71 

Variations  in  number,  69 

Sheetings.     See   "  Linen  indus- 
try- 
Sheffield,  Glut  of  cutlery  from, 

35 

Shell  components,  206 
See      also      "  Fuses, 

Gaines,"  etc. 
Shells,  and  Components,  orders 

placed      in      Belfast     and 

Dublin  Areas,  213 
Manufacture  of,  206,  212 

Shipbuilding  Industry,  The,  33, 
46,  47,  72,  97-99,  100- 
102,  197,  270 

Shipping,  227-235 

Direct  service.  See  also 

"  Trade,  Foreign  " 

Encouragement  of  the  de- 
velopment of,  3. 

Increased  cost  since  the 

war,  232 

Position  of,  worse  than 

before  the  war,  235 

War  losses,  232 

Shirt  and  collar  industry.  (See 
also  "Apparel"),  122,  123 

Location  of  factories,  122 

War  Office  contracts,  123 

Stations,  123 

Shortt,  Mr.  Edward,  M.P.,    285 

Silk  Industry,  13,  29,  30,  137 

Effect  of  the  withdrawal 

of  duties,  30 


Silk,  English  competition,  29,  30 

Silver  work.     See  "  Gold  " 

Sinn  Fein,  its  encouragement 
of  the  Irish  Industrial 
Movement,  271 

Skirtings.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts "  ;  "  Sawmill  Pro- 
ducts " 

Slate,  Annual  value  of,  149 

Production  of,  148 

Sleepers,  Railway.  See  "  Timber 
Products  " 

Sligo,  Linen  industry,  24,  27 

Smiddy,  Professor  T.  A.,  om 
deposits  in  Joint  Stock 
Banks,  248 

Smith,  Adam,  a  forecast  by,  on 
the  recovery  of  Ireland,  II 

Smuggling  of  Irish  wool,  7 

Snuff -making,   183 

Soap  and  candle — 

Imports  and  exports,  188,  189 
Industries,  187,  188 

Soapstone,   149,   150 

Southern  Counties,  Flax  grow- 
ing in  the,  116 

South  of  Ireland  Bacon  Curers' 
Pig  Improvement  Associa- 
tion, 80 

Spain,  Butter  exported  to,  84 

Fruit  cargoes  direct  from, 

236 

Spirits.  See  "  Distilling  In- 
dustry " 

Sports'  coats.     See  "  Hosiery  " 

Stained  glass,  192,  193 

Starch,  Manufacture  of.  See 
"  Household  Requisites  " 

"  Statistical  Year  Book,"  The, 
of  the  International  Insti- 
tute of  Agriculture,  59 

Statistics,  Agricultural,  system 
established  during  the  great 
famine,  57 

Stationery,  Manufactured.  See 
"  Printing  and  Bookbind- 
ing "  and  "  Newspapers  " 

Office  contract  placed  dur- 
ing the  war.  See  "  Govern- 
ment Contracts  " 

Steam  navigation,  Effect  of  the 
increase  in,  31,  32,  33,  73 


INDEX 


333 


Steatite.     See  "  Soapstone  " 

Steel  Factories.     See  "  Iron  " 

Stockings,  Duty  on,  13 

Stones,  Various  natures  worked, 
149 

Stout.  See  under  "  Brewing 
and  Malting  " 

Strabane,  Report  on  the  linen 
trade  in,  26 

Straw,  Quantity  and  value  of, 
consumed  on  farms,  64 

Strikes,  A  consequence  of  indus- 
trial decay,  48 

Evidence  as  to  their  cause, 

47 
Shipbuilding    industry    in 

Dublin  ruined  by,  33,  46 
Sir   Robert  Kane  on,  48, 

49 

Support  for,  from  England, 

48 

their  effect  on  industry, 

the  46 

Stuarts,  Efforts  of  the,  to  deve- 
lop Ireland,  i,  2 

Submarine  warfare,  Losses  from, 
232 

Sugar,  Government  control  of 
imports,  233 

Industry,  Natural  condi- 
tions favourable  to,  271 

Sullivan,  Dr.  W.  K.  168 

Sulphur  Ore  workings,  148 

Swift,  Dean,  Loan  Fund  intro- 
duced by,  254 

Swine.     See  "  Pigs  " 

Switzerland,  Cattle,  sheep  and 
pigs  in,  71 

Irish  linen  embroidered 

in,  106 

Syrups.    See  "  Aerated  Waters  " 


See 


Linen 


TABLECLOTHS. 

Industry  ' 
Tanning,  Classes  of  output,  178 
industry,     The,     34,    176, 

177,  178 
methods,      A    comparison 

of,   177 

Wakefield's  report,  34 

Tapestry,  Manufacture  of.     See 

"  Household  Requisites  " 


Tariff  Commission,  The,  8,  9,  70 
267 

Taxation,  Increases  of,  after  the 
Union,  41 

Tea-cloths.  See  "  Linen  Indus- 
try, Articles  made  up" 

Textile,  testing  and  condition- 
ing houses,  1 19 

Thread.  See  "  Linen  Industry  " 
and  "  Cotton  Industry  " 

Tiles,  Manufacture  of.  See 
under  "  Pottery  " 

Tillage.  See  "  Ploughed 
Land  " 

Timber,  area  under  in  1853, 
1880  and  1918,  63 

Government  control  of 

imports  from  Canada,  233 

products,  153,  154,  155 

Quantity    and    value    of, 

consumed  on  farms,  64 

"  Times,  The  "  on  the  fishing 
industry,  74 

Tinware,  Manufacture  of,  194 

Titles,  Irish,  applied  to  non- 
Irish  products,  169,  308-315 

Tobacco,  Imports  of  manufac- 
tured and  unmanufactured, 
183 

Industries,    181-185,    271, 

300-302, 

two  sections,  181 

Manufacture,    Sir   Nugent 

Everard    and    Lord    Dun- 
raven's  factories  for,  185 

Tobacco  growing — 

Effect  of  Finance  Act,  1919, 

185 

Preference  converted  into  a 
subsidy,  184 

Results  of  commercial  ex- 
periments in,  300,  301,  302 

Scheme  approved  by  tha 
Development  Commission, 

185 

Subsidy  reduced  and  limited 
to  the  experimenters,  184, 

185 
pipes,    briar,    meerschaum 

and  clay,  186 
Tool  and  Implement  Factories, 

104,  105 


334    MODERN  IRISH  TRADE  AND  INDUSTRY 


Tow  (and  see  "  Linen  Industry"), 
Quantity     and     value     of, 
consumed  on  farms,  64 
Toys,  Manufacture  of,  194 
Tractors,  Agricultural,  102,  103 
Trade,  2-5,  9,  61,  224,  225,  230, 
231,  267,  280 

Effect  of    the  rebellion  of 

1641,  2 

Foreign,     an     outlet     for 

industry,  3 

,  agitation  for  a  free,  9 

,  direct,  231 

right     of    free,     ad- 
mitted in  1780, 9 

.     See  also  "Shipping" 

Hostility    of    the    English 

Parliament  to  the  develop- 
ment of  Irish,  4 

impediments  to,  280 

in  Imports  and  Exports  at 

Irish  Ports,  Report  on  the, 
1915,  61,  230 

passage  of  the  Navigation 

Acts,  3 

See  also  "  Industry  "  and 

"  Manufactures  " 

vital  factors  in  its  recovery, 

224 

Trade-mark,  Date  of  registration 
of  the,  276,  277 

Evidence  of  its  value,  277, 

278 

Misuse  of  the,  278,  308-315 

National,  89,  118,  275-278, 

308,  315 

The    Irish,  the  first  insti- 
tuted, 275 

The,  owned   and  adminis- 
tered by  the  Irish  Industrial 
Development      Association 
(Incorporated),  276,  277 
Tramways,  237 

Transit    (and   see    "  Railways," 
"  Canals,  and  Inland  Water- 
ways,"     "  Shipping,"      its 
importance  to  industry,  215 
Trucks,    Hand.     See    "  Timber 

Products  " 
Trustee     Savings     Banks.     See 

"  Banking  " 
Turnbuckles,   212 


Turnips,  Area  under,  in  1852, 
1916,  1918  and  1919,  62 

increased  average  yield,  60 

Tweeds.  See  "  Woollen  In- 
dustry " 

Twine.     See  "  Rope  " 

Tyrone,  County,  Class  of  linen 
made,  24 

Potatoes  grown  in, 

for  export,  62 

ULSTER  linen  industry,  24,  25, 
107,  108,  118 

Loan  Fund  Banks  most 

used  in,  256 

Localization  of  industry 

in,  36,  42,  43 

Progress  a  result  of  the 

land  system,  45,  50 

Ulster  Echo,  The,  support  of 
the  Industrial  Develop- 
ment Associations,  274 

Umbrellas,  Districts  manufac- 
turing, 194 

Underwear.     See  "Hosiery" 

Unemployment,  caused  by  indus- 
trial decline,  50 

Union,  The  Act  of.  See  "  Act 
of  Union,  The  " 

Unions.     See  "  Linen  Industry" 

VARNISHES.     See  "  Chemicals  " 

Vegetable  preserving.  See 
"  Fruit  " 

Vegetables,  Amount  of  Admi- 
ralty contracts,  197 

Veneers.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts "  ;  "  Sawmill  Pro- 
ducts " 

Veterinary  preparations.  See 
"  Chemicals  " 

Vinegar.  See  "  Aerated  Waters  " 

WAGES,  Rate  of,  46,  47 
Waggons,    railway   and   others. 

See  "  Timber  Products  " 
Wakefield,    16,    20,    24,    31-32, 

34-35,  39,  43 
Wales,  Number  of  cattle,  sheep 

and  pigs  in,   71 
Operatives  in  the  woollen 

industry,   134 


INDEX 


335 


War,  Increase  of  ploughing 
owing  to  the,  57 

Office,     Contracts     placed 

during       the        war."     See 
"  Government    Contracts  " 

Wash-boards.  See  "  Timber 
Products  " 

Waterford,  Bacon  and  ham 
curing  at,  32 

Glass  factory  at,  34 

National  Cartridge  Fac- 
tory, 209,  210,  211 

Shipbuilding  at,  33 

Tanneries  at,  34,  176 

Waterproof  goods,  195 

Waterproofs,  Admiralty  con- 
tracts, 198 

Weavers,  Emigration  of.  See 
"  Woollen  Industry  " 

Wentworth,  Viceroyalty  of,  2 

West  Indies,  31,  84 

Wheat,  59-61,  64,  233 

Government     control     of 

imports    from    certain 
countries,    233 

Position     of     Ireland,     as 

regards  yield  of,  60 

Quantity    and    value    of, 

consumed  on  farms,  64 

Wheels.  See  "  Timber  Pro- 
ducts " 

Whiddy  Island,  Admiralty 
building  contracts  at,  197 

Whinstones.     See  "  Stones  " 

Whisky.  See  "  Distilling  In- 
dustry " 

Wicklow,  Woollen  and  flannel 
industries  in,  17,  19 

Willans,  Mr.,  Woollen  factories 
set  up  by,  17 

On   the   character   of   the 

Woollen  weavers,  20 

Windle,  Sir  Bertram  C.  A., 
the  Irish  national  trade 
mark,  his  suggestion,  276 

Window  frames.  See  "  Timber 
Products  " 

Wines  "  British."  See  "  Aerated 
Waters  " 


Wood,     Panel.     See     "  Timber 
Products  "  ;  "  Sawmill  Pro- 
ducts " 
Woods,    Destruction    of,    effect 

on  tanning,   34 

Wool,    raw    (and    see    "  Sheep, 
Lambs "),    7,    10,    16,    63- 
65,  69, 125 
Woollen  industry — 

2,  3,  6,  7,  10,  13,  16-19,  124, 

136 

Attempt  to  revive,  17 
Broadcloth,  16 
Capacity  for  expansion,   133, 

134.  US 

Dyes,  inferiority  of,  131 
Fine      cloths      made      from 

imported  wool,  125 
Flannel,    19 

List  of  the  products  of,  131 
Mills,  126,  127,  132 
Necessity    for     co-operation, 

133.  134 

Position  of  the  handloom 
and  homespun  industry, 
129 

Products    made   from   home- 
grown wool,  125 
Slow  development  of,    133 
Spinning,     an     opening     for 

capital,   126 

Workers,  17,  127,  132,  133 
Yarn,  124-126,  130,  131 
See  also  "  Wool  "  ;    "  Raw  " 

YARN,    hemp    and    linen.     Sw 

"  Linen  Industry  " 
wool.          See     "  Woollen 

Industry  " 
Yorkshire,  16,  134 
West    Riding,    percentage 

of  operatives  in  the  woollen 

trade,  134 
Young,  Arthur,  a  forecast  by, 

on  the  recovery  of  Ireland, 

ii 

ZINC  ore,  150 


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